S&P slices ENA Norte Trust

S&P said it lowered its issue-level rating on ENA Norte Trust's debt to BB- from BB+ and placed the rating on CreditWatch with negative implications.

“The Panamanian toll road operator, ENA Norte Trust (ENA Norte or the project), reported a traffic increase of 6% in 2022, significantly lower than the 23% growth originally expected, mainly due to the increasing competition from free alternative roads and other transportation models. We now expect traffic levels to increase 7% in 2023, versus the previous forecast of 9%. Therefore and considering the updated traffic volume baseline and the project's cash flow sweep feature on its notes, we now expect ENA Norte to repay its debt at legal maturity in April 2028, using a portion of its debt service reserve account (DSRA),” S&P said in a press release.

The agency warned there is a 50% chance it will lower ENA Norte Trust’s rating again in the next three months if it sees weaker traffic growth in 2023 that could reduce the payment of principal, and raise the risk of refinancing compared with its base-case scenario.

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