Sep 2014 Financial News

CariCRIS gives Plipdeco ‘good’ credit rating

Sep 16, 2014

The local rating agency CariCRIS has assigned initial corporate credit ratings of CariA+ (foreign and local currency rating) on its regional rating scale, and ttA+ on the T&T national scale to Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Ltd (Plipdeco).

These ratings include a single notch up due to majority ownership by the Government of the Republic of T&T, CariCRIS said in a statement.

The ratings indicate that the level of creditworthiness of this obligor, adjudged in relation to other obligors in the Caribbean and within T&T is good.

CariCRIS said the ratings are supported by Plipdeco’s strong market position in local port and industrial real estate operations. In 2013, Port Point Lisas commanded 51 per cent of the import export market and 16 per cent of the transshipment market. On the industrial estate, the company has good tenant credit quality and a healthy conservation record. The company is well capitalised with comfortable debt protection measures. Debt service coverage ratio was comfortable at 2.2 times as at December 2013; higher than the five-year (2009-2013) average of 1.4 times as a result of adequate operating cash flows and a low level of debt service requirements.

Plipdeco has been profitable over the last five years with a profit after tax margin of 6.4 per cent reported in 2013 and an average of 5.3 per cent over the last five years.

Source:
Trinidad Guardian, A20
Tuesday September 16, 2014