S&P hikes Merlin Properties

S&P said it raised its ratings on Merlin Properties Socimi, SA and its senior unsecured debt to BBB+ from BBB.

“Merlin's prudent financial policy and financial flexibility have enabled the company to sustain lower leverage over the past two years despite real estate market turbulences. The sector has undergone yield expansions and strong asset value corrections due to rising interest rates and challenging investment market since April 2022. That said, Merlin has maintained a comparatively low reported loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 35% at year-end 2023 (32.7% at year-end 2022). This translated to S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to debt plus equity of 38.4% (35.9% at year-end 2022),” the agency said in a press release.

S&P said it views Merlin's liquidity position as strong, given its cash balances of about €461 million as of Dec. 31, €740 million revolving credit facility due in 2028 with an additional two-year extension option, and supportive refinancing policy.

The outlook is stable.

© 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.