Bangkok--20 Oct--Standard & Poor's
(Editor's note: A version of this news release published Sept. 11 stated the incorrect dollar amount of the new issue. The correct amount is $18.715 million. Related coverage has also been amended. A corrected version follows.)
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to Woodland Finance Authority, Calif.'s $18.715 million water revenue bonds, series 2008, issued on behalf of the City of Woodland. The outlook is stable.
"System financial performance and reserves have historically been strong, with very healthy operating margins and liquidity and no previous debt," said Standard & Poor's Paul Dyson. "Forecasted coverage for fiscal 2009 is a very strong 2.2x, rising to an even stronger 2.8x by fiscal 2013. Liquidity as of audited 2007 was a strong $3.9 million, or a substantial 380 days' cash of operations, and is estimated at $7.5 million, or 609 days' cash, for unaudited fiscal 2008."
The water system's first-ever debt issuance, the bonds will fund the construction of a new water tank and new wells, repair and maintenance of existing wells and pipeline, and installation of water meters and a communication system.
Woodland, the county seat of Yolo County, is located 85 miles northeast of San Francisco and 18 miles northwest of Sacramento. The city currently receives its entire water supply from 20 wells located throughout the city, which provide an estimated maximum capacity of 40.3 million gallons per day.
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit Ratings Search.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York, (1) 212-438-6634
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Paul Dyson, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5079
Chris Morgan, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5032