The international credit rating agency “S&P Global Ratings” (S&P) has raised the long-term credit rating assigned to the Latvian transmission system operator Augstsprieguma tīkls AS (AST) from BBB+ to A- with a stable outlook.

“Upgrading the credit rating of AST from BBB+ to A- is good news. This is the highest rating among Latvian companies and a clear signal to all investors that AST can be relied on as a stable and reliable cooperation partner. This is a result of the recent issue of AST green bonds in the amount of 100 million, which has allowed the company to refinance a loan of EUR 116.2 million and plan financing for the next major investment projects,” explains Gunta Jēkabsone, Chairwoman of the Board of AST.

Last year, AST took over the assets of the transmission network and the liabilities assumed by the previous asset owner in the amount of more than EUR 200 million with short repayment terms. At present, the refinancing of assumed liabilities has been successfully completed with the issuance of bonds on the securities market. As a result, AST has no plans to repay any significant credit liabilities in the next 5.25 years.

The rating agency is a long-term cooperation partner that monitors the company's main events and development, as well as annually evaluates the financial stability. As a result of the procurement, AST chose S&P as its partner for determining the credit rating and further monitoring. S&P is one of the leading international credit rating agencies, which also determines the credit rating of Latvia at the international level.

A credit rating is an assessment of the creditworthiness of a company, region or country. The credit rating is based on the past and current financial history of market participants, as well as on the assessment of their assets and financial liabilities. The latest report of the credit rating assigned to AST is available on the AST website https://www.ast.lv/en/content/rating.