Fitch Ratings has affirmed
The Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also affirmed Golden Eagle's senior unsecured rating at 'BB+'.
Simultaneously, Fitch is withdrawing the ratings of Golden Eagle as it is no longer considered by Fitch to be relevant to the agency's coverage after the company repaid its US dollar bond on
Key Rating Drivers
The ratings are supported by Golden Eagle's resilient performance following efforts to offer more relevant retail formats and sustained positive free cash flow. The ratings are constrained by its relatively small scale and geographic concentration, with the bulk of revenue generated from the
Derivation Summary
Golden Eagle has a weaker market position and significantly smaller scale than higher-rated US department store peers such as
Golden Eagle and
Key Assumptions
Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Our Rating Case for the Issuer
Gross sales proceeds to increase by the low teens in 2023 before moderating to a low single digit in 2026
EBITDA margin in the range of 45%-46% in 2023-2026
Capex of
Resume 50% dividend payout rate from 2023
RATING SENSITIVITIES
No longer relevant. The ratings are withdrawn.
Best/Worst Case Rating Scenario
International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction) of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges from '
Liquidity and Debt Structure
Net Cash Position: Golden Eagle reported cash and cash equivalents of
Issuer Profile
Golden Eagle is a
Summary of Financial Adjustments
Fitch has adjusted debt by adding an 8x annual fixed operating lease expense (2022: fixed rental expense of
Fitch subtracts customer prepayments and 85% of trade payables from readily available cash. This metric applies mainly to Chinese department stores operating under the concessionaire model
Fitch treats the sale of properties and cost of properties sold as non-operating items and cash flow from the sale of properties as non-operating cash flow
ESG CONSIDERATIONS
Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. ESG issues are credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit www.fitchratings.com/esg.
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