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S&P Global Ratings Affirms STL Credit Rating, Revises Outlook to Positive
Airport’s management and governance sited as a key credit strength.
This article is 3 years old. It was published on June 16, 2022.
(St. Louis—June 16, 2022) Standard and Poors' Global Ratings (S&P) has revised its credit outlook of St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) from stable to positive. The firm also affirmed the airport’s long-term rating of ‘A-‘.
In its summary, S&P states “the outlook revision reflects STL’s recent positive enplanement trends, with April 2022 monthly enplanements at 84 percent of April 2019 levels.” S&P states that it “could raise the rating within the next two years if we believe the current passenger recovery trend and traffic levels are sustainable.”
The credit ratings firm highlighted what they consider the airport’s strengths, which include STL’s role as the dominant airport in the region, a significant liquidity position, a relatively large and economically healthy service area, and very strong management and governance.
“S&P’s latest rating affirms that St. Louis Lambert International Airport is moving in the right direction. The change to a positive outlook points toward continued growth and investor interest,” said St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green.
“I am proud that S&P’s summary describes STL’s management team as ‘experienced, proactive, and effective,’” said STL Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge. “The rating confirms that the airport is on the right business track moving forward.”
The summary states “STL entered the pandemic operationally and financially strong, with enplanements at their highest level since 2003 (7.9 million in FY2019).” STL, as of June of this year, had approximately $529.1 million of debt outstanding. This debt is fixed-rate, with no variable-rate debt, swaps, or direct-purchase debt outstanding.
Comptroller Darlene Green is the chief fiscal officer of the City of St. Louis and is charged with safeguarding the city’s credit rating and with protecting taxpayer dollars. She is the recipient of the 2019 Women in Public Finance Lifetime Achievement award. Visit www.stlouis-mo.gov/comptroller to learn more about the Office of the Comptroller.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is the primary commercial airport for the St. Louis metro area and parts of eastern Missouri and southern Illinois serving 15.6 million passengers annually. STL is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of St. Louis. It is wholly supported by airport user charges. No general fund revenues are used for the operation, administration, promotion or maintenance of airport facilities. For more information, visit www.flystl.com. Follow us on Facebook: @flySTL, Twitter: @flySTL and Instagram: @flySTL
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