S&P affirms NGC

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed the BBB+ long-term corporate credit rating on National Gas Co. of Trinidad & Tobago Ltd. (NGC).

The outlook is stable.

Ratings on NGC and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (A+/stable/A-1) are linked although there's no explicit government guarantee. The company is 100% government-owned and is one of the largest contributors to government revenue.

Ratings reflect the company's critical role in the development of the natural gas industry in Trinidad and Tobago, the agency noted, which provide the government with a strong incentive to keep the issuer solvent.

Ratings also consider the company's concentration in a single line of business and expectations of a more aggressive financial policy, S&P said.

For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, the company posted a total debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.3 times.

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