BlueScope Steel Plans $US300m Note Offering

26 April 2016

BlueScope Steel has looked to immediately benefit from a credit rating upgrade by making moves to extend its debt maturities.

In a statement to investors, the steel producer (BSL) said its subsidiary BlueScope Steel (Finance) would offer $US300 million ($A389m) in unsecured notes to institutional investors offshore.

“BlueScope intends to use the net proceeds to repay outstanding amounts under its unsecured bridge facility and, to the extent any proceeds remain, for general corporate purposes,” the firm said in a statement.

“The notes issue will diversify BlueScope Steel’s funding sources and extend its debt maturities.”

The move comes on the back of Moody’s recent call to raise BlueScope’s debt rating from Ba3 to Ba2 owing to a sharp improvement in the firm’s financial outlook after an overhaul of its operations.

“The upgrade to Ba2 reflects the strengthening in BlueScope’s financial profile, which has undergone significant improvement in the last 2-3 years, with the benefits now appearing,” Moody’s senior credit officer said.

“BlueScope is continuing to demonstrate resilience as it benefits from its production of branded value-added products, and from low raw material costs, relative to the price of its finished products.”

The steel producer has enjoyed a remarkable fortnight on the Australian Securities Exchange, surging 11 per cent since the Moody’s upgrade on April 8.

 

Source : theaustralian.com.au