Moody’s upgrades KION

Moody’s Investors Service said it upgraded the corporate family rating of KION Group AG to Ba1 from Ba2, along with its probability of default rating to Ba1-PD from Ba2-PD.

Moody’s also said it changed the outlook on the ratings to stable from positive.

The upgrade reflects the company’s ongoing de-leveraging, supported by a continued strong operating performance during the last year that is expected to continue in 2016, the agency said.

In 2015, KION outperformed its markets with revenue growth of 9%, Moody’s said.

The upgrade also recognizes KION’s successful implementation of a new financing structure announced in February, the agency said.

The transaction included an early repayment of the expensive pre-IPO 6¾% high-yield bond of €450 million, thus enabling substantial interest savings that KION estimates at about €30 million for 2015 on pro-forma basis, Moody’s explained.

This will benefit both its interest cover ratio, as well as free cash flow generation going forward, the agency said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.