S&P turns Kirby outlook to positive

S&P said it changed its outlook for Kirby Corp. to positive from stable and affirmed its ratings, including the BBB- issuer rating.

“We expect the combination of the company's healthy 2023 operating performance and lower debt to lead to an improvement in its credit measures. Kirby's reported debt stood at $1.2 billion as of the end of 2022, which is down from $1.7 billion as of the end of 2020. The company has not pursued material shareholder returns or acquisitions since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. However, we expect that Kirby will resume both activities following its board of directors' approval of a significant increase in its repurchase authorization in the first quarter of 2023,” S&P said in a press release.

Taking that into account, the agency said it forecasts funds from operations to debt of 35%-40% and debt to EBITDA of 2x-2.5x in 2023, weakening to 33%-38% and 2.2x-2.7x, respectively, in 2024.

© 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.