Bangkok--1 Jun--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has raised its long-term rating on Colorado Health Facilities Authority's $55 million series 2005F revenue bonds, issued on behalf of Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS), and its underlying rating (SPUR) on the authority's $215 million series 2005A-2005C bonds, issued for PVHS, to 'A-' from 'BBB+'. The outlook is stable.
In Standard & Poor's opinion, the upgrade reflects strong operations with operating margins of 5.2% for fiscal 2008 and 7.0% for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, ended March 31, 2009; an adequate liquidity position of 206 days' cash on hand for the first quarter of fiscal 2009; and a solid market position with growing utilization in a high-growth area of Colorado. Financial Security Assurance Inc. insures the series 2005A-2005C bonds.
"We expect that Poudre Valley Health System will maintain the current level of operations for the remainder of fiscal 2009. As management has stated that it will spend capital wisely, there is also an expectation that liquidity will also grow slightly," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Brian Williamson.
PVHS is a regional integrated delivery system that serves northern Colorado, southwestern Nebraska, and southeastern Wyoming. PVHS is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colo. The system comprises Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH), a 281-bed acute-care facility; Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation; Medical Center of the Rockies, a 136-bed acute-care joint venture; Healthy Start, a children's clinic; Lakota Lake LLC (Lakota), a Colorado limited liability company that is wholly owned by PVHS; and PVHS/Timberline LLC (PVHS/Timberline), a Colorado limited liability company that is wholly owned by PVHS.
RELATED RESEARCH
--USPF Criteria: "Not-For-Profit Health Care," June 14, 2007
--USPF Criteria: "Debt Derivative Profile Scores," March 27, 2006
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect subscribers 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 Find a Rating.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095, [email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Brian T Williamson, Chicago (1) 312-233-7009
Cynthia Keller Macdonald, New York (1) 212-438-2035
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
media_ [email protected]
Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
[email protected]