S&P upgrades Noble Corp.

S&P said it raised its rating on Noble Corp. plc to BB- from B+ and affirmed the BB- issue-level and rating on the unsecured debt issued through Noble Finance II LLC. The agency also revised the unsecured debt recovery rating to 3 from 2, indicating meaningful (50%-70%; rounded estimate: capped at 65%) recovery in default. The 2 rating indicated substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 85%) recovery.

“Noble generated around $149 million of FOCF in 2023, resulting in strong credit measures supported by increasing offshore market activity and solid operational execution. Based on our current assumptions, we now expect funds from operations (FFO) to debt of well above 100%, with debt to EBITDA below 1x over the next two years. At the same time, we expect the company to generate positive discretionary cash flow (DCF) over the next two years,” S&P said in a press release.

The outlook is stable.

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