Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has reaffirmed the Issuer/Corporate Credit Ratings assigned to Massy Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (Massy or the Group) at CariAA+ (Foreign and Local Currency Ratings) on its regional rating scale, and ttAA+ (Foreign and Local Currency Ratings) on its Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) national rating scale.

These ratings indicate that the level of creditworthiness of this obligor, adjudged in relation to other obligors in the Caribbean and within T&T, is high. CariCRIS has also maintained a stable outlook on the ratings.

The stable outlook is based on CariCRIS’ expectation of continued good financial performance by the Group, supported by its ongoing regional and international expansion.

CariCRIS expects continued profitability and good cashflow from operations to support healthy financial flexibility and debt protection metrics over the next 12 – 15 months.

Moreover, it is likely that Massy will continue to ably manage supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures brought about by the Russia/Ukraine conflict and the uncertain global geo-political environment.

Massy’s ratings continue to reflect its moderate industry diversification and good market position in the Group’s three core business portfolios.

Massy possesses a wide geographic reach, which allows the Group to diversify its earnings in key operating territories where there is significant growth potential.

The ratings are also underpinned by the Group’s diverse portfolio of complementary businesses which promotes cross selling and value chain maximisation.

Furthermore, the group’s strong cash flows and healthy debt protection metrics continue to drive its solid financial performance.

These rating strengths are tempered by continued weak economic performance in T&T and Barbados which places downward pressure on the Group’s profitability. Also, restrictions on accessing US$ liquidity in T&T remain, which constrain the rating, although improvements have been noted.

Rating Sensitivity Factors:

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to an improvement in the ratings and/or outlook include:

• Continued intraregional and extra-regional expansion resulting in an increase in operating revenue by > 15 per cent for 2 consecutive financial periods
• An improvement in operating profit margin to > 12.5 per cent for 2 consecutive financial periods
• An increase in operating cash flows leading to an improvement in effective debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) to > 7.5 times for 2 consecutive financial periods

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to a lowering of the ratings and/or outlook include:

• A deterioration in operating profit margin to < 5 per cent for 2 consecutive financial periods
• A decline in operating cash flows leading to a leading to a deterioration in effective DSCR to < 1.2 times for 2 consecutive financial periods
• Negative reputational and/ or financial impact due to the findings of the independent investigation into the Group’s governance.