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Following the release of Haniel’s H1 2019 figures and the awaited execution of EPGC’s call option for Haniel’s remaining 15.2% shares in METRO, the rating case for the BBB-/Stable issuer rating on Haniel remains intact.

Scope’s rating case reflects the expectation that Haniel’s total cost coverage will revert to the corridor of between 1.0-1.3x over the next few years following the potential full or partial disposal of its remaining share in METRO. This is grounded on the assumption that the historical level of dividends received from METRO will not be substituted in full by income from other shareholdings or financial assets in the short term. Scope expects full cost coverage to be sustainable, even in light of potential reductions in dividends or income from Haniel’s more cyclical shareholdings.

On 30 April 2019, Scope affirmed its BBB- issuer rating for Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH and its financing subsidiary Haniel Finance Deutschland GmbH, with a Stable Outlook. The rating primarily reflects Scope’s continued view on Haniel’s consistent execution of its investment strategy, which is focused on mature SMEs and robust income streams that ensure a sustainable total cost coverage above 1.0x.

This publication does not constitute a credit rating action. For the official credit rating action release click here.