S&P gives AnQore, loans B

S&P said it assigned B ratings to acrylonitrile (ACN) producer AnQore Holding BV’s parent ACR I BV and its senior secured instruments. The outlook is stable.

“We anticipate the contraction in volumes will persist in 2023, leading to adjusted leverage remaining at 4.8x-5x. Total volumes declined by 19% last year, due to a challenging second half given the lower demand and de-stocking in Europe. We anticipate ACN volumes will remain low in 2023 at about 182 thousand tons (kt), versus 185 kt in 2022. We note that despite a progressive improvement quarter over quarter, demand has not strongly rebounded in Europe over the past few months from the year-end 2022 de-stocking trough, leading to lower-than-expected volumes in May,” S&P said in a press release.

The agency said it estimates AnQore will post negative free operating cash flow in 2023 and then turn “modestly positive in 2024.”

The company plans to extend the maturities on a major portion of its €300 million first-lien term loan, and its revolving credit facility to 2027 from 2024, which the agency said it considers credit positive because it will improve the capital structure and maturity profile.

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