OTTAWA — The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (FBCL) has announced that Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings has reaffirmed its 2019 FBCL bond rating with an A+ and a “stable” outlook.
S&P concluded that despite traffic volatility and increasing exposure to competition in the medium term, there are strong economic fundamentals in FBCL’s service area and the corporation has a low industry risk compared to other industries and sectors, an Aug. 13 release stated.
“FBCL’s very strong management and governance characteristics have allowed it to achieve financial and operational goals. We believe the management team has considerable expertise and experience and that it is adequately prepared to quickly react to unfavourable economic conditions,” said S&P.
S&P also noted that “the stable outlook reflects our expectation that, in the next two years, FBCL’s traffic and EBIDA (earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization) will increase about 1.5 per cent and two per cent on average, respectively, and that the corporation will continue with its debt reduction strategy given its modest capital plan and lack of additional external financing needs.”
The corporation’s CEO Natalie Kinloch commented in the statement, “This is very positive news given the present state of uncertainty in global trade and international travel that directly impacts our operations and bottom line. Of late, the economic climate seems to be more volatile and less predictable, which makes business decisions increasingly more challenging.
FBCL owns, manages and operates international bridges and associated structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Point Edward, Lansdowne (Thousand Islands) and Cornwall, all in Ontario.
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