Moody’s gives James Hardie note add-on Ba1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Ba1 rating to James Hardie International Finance Ltd.’s proposed $75 million add-on to its existing 5 7/8% senior unsecured notes due 2023, proceeds of which will be used for general corporate purposes.

James Hardie's Ba1 corporate family rating, Ba1-PD probability of default rating, Ba1 senior unsecured note rating and SGL-2 speculative-grade liquidity rating are unchanged.

The outlook is stable.

The Ba1 corporate family rating benefits from James Hardie's relatively conservative balance sheet management, financial policies that are now expected to be more aligned with creditor interests and deep-rooted industry expertise combined with solid operating strategy, according to the agency.

Further strengthening the credit risk profile is the expected continued improvement in the company's already strong credit metrics over the next 12 to 18 months.

James Hardie's financial policy sets a maximum of 2 times net leverage ratio. Moody's projects debt to EBITDA to be maintained below 1.5 times and EBITA/interest expense above 10 times over the next 12 to 18 months.

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