Highest rating in company’s history – “Record profitability should be
sustained over coming years”
The credit rating firm S&P Global Ratings announced that it is upgrading the international rating of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to BBB, improving its stable projection for the company’s profitability. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings upgraded the company’s national scale rating to AA+, a rating also projected to remain stable.
S&P Global Ratings determined that “A supportive backlog and material improvements in IAI’s cost structure have enabled it to not only bridge pandemic-related challenges, but also to post record high profitability, which will likely stay so for the coming years. Therefore, we are raising our long-term issuer credit rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘ and our Israel national scale rating to ‘ilAA+’ from ‘ilAA.’ The stable outlook balances the existing ample rating headroom against some uncertainty as to the company’s growth path after the IPO.” S&P Global Ratings added that the COVID-19 pandemic did not spoil the company’s positive momentum in 2020, and that the company’s profitability rate is similar to companies in its peer group.
President and CEO of IAI Boaz Levy said: “The upgrade to the company’s rating directly expresses the excellent business and technological results it has shown over the past few quarters and in 2020 as a whole. The upgraded rating positively reflects the way the company overcame challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The continued growth in profitability, the company’s rating as one of the best places to work in the Israeli market, a Platinum Plus rating in the Maala ESG Index together with continued groundbreaking achievements all stand as testament to the commitment of the company’s employees and management to its continued growth and success.
This is another seal of approval for the ongoing improvement in our results, for the company’s stability ahead of its IPO and its readiness for the challenges of the future.”
