Fitch assigns Investment Grade Rating BBB- with a Positive Outlook and clear pathway to further rating upgrades

“The rating reflect PPI's public sector-tenanted NOK9.9 billion portfolio of community service properties and the stability of its rental income, linked to the Norwegian government. Its properties are, to a large degree, specialised and comprise police stations, courts, government and municipality administrations, healthcare, education, as well as public and private offices. This low-risk rental income profile is paired with low leverage (3Q24: net debt/EBITDA 7.8x (using annualised rents); loan-to-value (LTV) 45%), an interest coverage of around 2x, and a conservative financial policy.

The Positive Outlook reflects our expectation that PPI intends to improve certain factors that constrain the IDR to 'BBB-', the resolution of which may occur instantly: its short debt maturity profile (3Q24: 3.2 years) and short interest-rate fixing, its concentrated portfolio, and a lack of unencumbered assets. Upon issuing a planned NOK3.5 billion/EUR300 million five-year fixed-rate unsecured bond, most of these factors improve, pointing to a 'BBB' IDR” the Fitch press release states.

“We are very pleased to announce that we now have achieved a Fitch rating of BBB- with a positive outlook. This is an important enabler to establish a more sustainable and attractive long-term financing structure for PPI. This represents a milestone for us and is fully in line with what has been communicated as a key near-term target for PPI, since the successful IPO in April 2024”, says Ilija Batljan, interim CEO of PPI.
 
Contact: Ilija Batljan, Interim CEO, [email protected], +46 (0) 705183967, Marianne Aalby, EVP Finance and ESG, [email protected], +47 92614477, or Tone K. Omsted, EVP IR and Corporate Finance, [email protected], +47 98228519