The latest information on the rating, including rating reports and related methodologies, is available on this LINK.

Rating action

Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) has today affirmed Aker’s long-term issuer rating at BBB-/Stable. Scope has furthermore affirmed the senior unsecured debt rating at BBB- and the short-term debt rating at S-2.

The affirmation is based on Scope’s acknowledgement of Aker’s increased diversification, which is expected to continue following the updated investment strategy of prioritising larger, cash-generating investments, as well as on stronger recurring cash flows and a strong commitment to deleveraging. However, these strengthening factors are offset by increased dividend payouts, which reduces Scope’s total cost cover.

The full list of rating actions and rated entities is at the end of this rating action release.

Key rating drivers

Business risk profile: BB+ (unchanged). Aker's business risk profile is bolstered by its high share of liquid listed assets and its focused investment philosophy but remains somewhat constrained by its exposure to volatile industries and modest, but improving, portfolio sustainability and diversification. This reflects the high level of concentration of recurring cash income and asset value in a small number of core holdings. However, Scope has noted an improvement in diversification year on year.

Aker’s portfolio remains concentrated in Aker BP, representing 45% of gross asset value (GAV) as of Q2 2025. The three largest core holdings accounted for 63% of GAV, an improvement from 70% in last year’s review. Scope notes the declining reliance on Aker BP’s dividend, projected to fall to around 60% of recurring income in 2025–2026 from 90% in 2023, supported by higher dividend contributions from Aker Solutions and Solstad Maritime after Solstad’s refinancing and listing.

Strong portfolio liquidity continues to underpin Aker’s business risk profile, with listed assets accounting for above 70% of gross asset value (GAV). The profile is further supported by the company’s proven investment philosophy, reflecting its long‑term investment approach and active ownership strategy, which have delivered sustained growth in net asset value without breaching financial policy targets.

Capital allocation is expected to focus increasingly on diversifying recurring upstream dividends. This follows the updated strategy presented in Aker’s 2024 quarterly reports, which prioritises larger, cash‑generating holdings and targets a reduction of net debt to zero by 2027. Scope therefore expects portfolio streamlining to continue over the coming years, building on recent measures, including the addition of Solstad Maritime and the announced joint venture with OpenAI and NScale to develop a large AI infrastructure project in Northern Norway.

Scope views the strategy update positively for Aker’s business risk profile, as greater diversity in recurring dividend income would help reduce portfolio concentration, thereby addressing a key structural risk.

Financial risk profile: BBB (unchanged). Aker's financial risks are lower than its business risks. This is evidenced by its low leverage and its total cost coverage*, which has remained resilient at around 1x in previous years. Based on increased dividend payouts offsetting increased recurring income, the financial risk profile remains unchanged, driven by Scope's total cost coverage assessment, which incorporates all of Aker's dividends.

Aker’s recurring cash income is expected to reach NOK 5.4bn in 2025 (NOK 0.7bn above last year’s forecast), most of which has already been received. Scope expects further growth in 2026–27, primarily due to Solstad Maritime’s increased capacity to pay dividends.

Scope has taken note of Aker’s changed dividend policy in the second half of 2024, following some extraordinary cash inflows from its portfolio holdings, Aker Solutions and Aker Biomarine. This has increased the total expected dividend to 4–6% of year-end net asset value (up from 2–4%), though it does emphasise the discretionary nature of its second-half dividend, which will be confirmed at the end of the year, depending on its financial capacity. Scope acknowledges that the second half of the dividend should be evaluated in relation to the company's financial capacity and provides greater flexibility, albeit as it is potentially recurring and thus part of Scope's calculations. Including the discretionary dividend disbursed at year-end in the calculation of TCC, the ratio will only be marginally above 1x in 2025/26, before likely gaining traction in 2027. However, the visibility of dividends earned naturally becomes lower further out.

Aker's loan-to-value ratio decreased to 11% in Q2 2025, down from 14% a year ago, though still within the normalised target range of 10–15%. This is in line with the company’s aim to reduce its net debt to zero by 2027. Reducing the ratio below 10% will further improve the company's financial risk profile. Portfolio market value volatility is considered to be low to medium, and the impact of such criteria on the overall financial risk profile is lower than for more highly geared peers, for whom changes in asset values can have a more adverse impact.

Liquidity: adequate (unchanged). Aker's liquidity position remains solid and adequate, particularly given the substantial amount of unused committed credit facilities totalling NOK 5.3bn as of Q2 2025. This results in an overall liquidity ratio of over 200% for the next 12 months, given that the only debt maturing between 2025 and 2027 is two bonds totalling NOK 2bn, which are due in September 2027.

Supplementary rating drivers: credit-neutral (unchanged). Scope has made no rating adjustments related to peer group considerations, parent support, or governance and structure.

Outlook and rating sensitivities

The Stable Outlook reflects Scope's expectation of total cost coverage of above 1x, as well as improving diversification of recurring dividend income and capital allocations, both of which provide increased headroom for the current rating. The updated investment strategy of prioritising larger, cash-generative investments indicates that the recent capital allocations will continue. The Outlook also reflects the agency’s expectations that LTV will be maintained at around 10% in the short term, in line with the company’s conservative financial policy.

The upside scenarios for the ratings and Outlook are (individually):

1. Total cost cover of 1.3x or above on a sustained basis
    
2. Net cash position on a sustained basis
    
3. Reduced portfolio concentration through more diversification of recurring income from mature holdings

The downside scenarios for the ratings and Outlook are (individually or collectively):

1. Total cost cover sustained below 1.0x
    
2. LTV to significantly increase above 15% on a sustained basis

Debt ratings

Scope has affirmed the rating for senior unsecured debt at BBB-, in line with the rating action on the underlying issuer rating.

The S-2 short-term debt rating has also been affirmed, reflecting the issuer rating of BBB-/Stable as well as better-than-adequate short-term debt coverage and better-than-adequate access to bank and capital markets financing.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

Scope has not identified any environmental, social or governance (ESG) considerations with a significant effect on Aker’s credit quality. Furthermore, Scope sees Aker’s nature as an investment holding company as providing better flexibility than traditional corporates to handle longer-term ESG risks, since underlying asset exposures can be rotated more easily.

The longer-term transition risks of the oil and gas industry are the most prevalent negative environmental factor in Aker’s current portfolio. Measured by gross asset value, Aker has reduced the exposure to oil and gas production from a peak of around 65% in 2019 to 45% as of Q2 2025. In the same period, the exposure to climate solutions, renewable energy, industrial digitalisation and healthy living has grown to over 20%.

All rating actions and rated entities

Aker ASA

Issuer rating: BBB-/Stable, affirmation

Short-term debt rating: S-2, affirmation

Senior unsecured debt rating: BBB-, affirmation

*All credit metrics refer to Scope-adjusted figures.

Stress testing & cash flow analysis
No stress testing was performed. Scope Ratings performed its standard cash flow forecasting for the company.

Methodology
The methodologies used for these Credit Ratings and/or Outlook, (General Corporate Rating Methodology, 14 February 2025; Investment Holding Companies Rating Methodology, 16 May 2025), are available on scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.
Information on the meaning of each Credit Rating category, including definitions of default, recoveries, Outlooks and Under Review, can be viewed in ‘Rating Definitions – Credit Ratings, Ancillary and Other Services’, published on scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Historical default rates of the entities rated by Scope Ratings can be viewed in the Credit Rating performance report at scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/regulatory/eu-regulation. Also refer to the central platform (CEREP) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA): registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication/. A comprehensive clarification of Scope Ratings’ definitions of default and Credit Rating notations can be found at scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/definitions-and-scales. Guidance and information on how environmental, social or governance factors (ESG factors) are incorporated into the Credit Rating can be found in the respective sections of the methodologies or guidance documents provided on scoperatings.com/governance-and-policies/rating-governance/methodologies.
The Outlook indicates the most likely direction of the Credit Ratings if the Credit Ratings were to change within the next 12 to 18 months.

Solicitation, key sources and quality of information
The Rated Entity and/or its Related Third Parties participated in the Credit Rating process.
The following substantially material sources of information were used to prepare the Credit Ratings: public domain, the Rated Entity and Scope Ratings' internal sources.
Scope Ratings considers the quality of information available to Scope Ratings on the Rated Entity or instrument to be satisfactory. The information and data supporting these Credit Ratings originate from sources Scope Ratings considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope Ratings does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data.
Prior to the issuance of the Credit Rating action, the Rated Entity was given the opportunity to review the Credit Ratings and/or Outlook and the principal grounds on which the Credit Ratings and/or Outlook are based. Following that review, the Credit Ratings and/or Outlook were not amended before being issued.

Regulatory disclosures
These Credit Ratings and/or Outlook are issued by Scope Ratings GmbH, Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin, Tel +49 30 27891-0. The Credit Ratings and/or Outlook are UK-endorsed.
Lead analyst: Thomas Faeh, Executive Director
Person responsible for approval of the Credit Ratings: Philipp Wass, Managing Director
The Credit Ratings/Outlook were first released by Scope Ratings on 17 August 2022. The Credit Ratings/Outlook were last updated on 22 August 2024.

Potential conflicts
See scoperatings.com under Governance & Policies/Regulatory for a list of potential conflicts of interest disclosures related to the issuance of Credit Ratings, as well as a list of Ancillary Services and certain non-Credit Rating Agency services provided to Rated Entities and/or Related Third Parties.

Conditions of use/exclusion of liability
© 2025 Scope SE & Co. KGaA and all its subsidiaries including Scope Ratings GmbH, Scope Ratings UK Limited, Scope Fund Analysis GmbH, Scope Innovation Lab GmbH and Scope ESG Analysis GmbH (collectively, Scope). All rights reserved. The information and data supporting Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions and related research and credit opinions originate from sources Scope considers to be reliable and accurate. Scope does not, however, independently verify the reliability and accuracy of the information and data. Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, or related research and credit opinions are provided ‘as is’ without any representation or warranty of any kind. In no circumstance shall Scope or its directors, officers, employees and other representatives be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental or other damages, expenses of any kind, or losses arising from any use of Scope’s ratings, rating reports, rating opinions, related research or credit opinions. Ratings and other related credit opinions issued by Scope are, and have to be viewed by any party as, opinions on relative credit risk and not a statement of fact or recommendation to purchase, hold or sell securities. Past performance does not necessarily predict future results. Any report issued by Scope is not a prospectus or similar document related to a debt security or issuing entity. Scope issues credit ratings and related research and opinions with the understanding and expectation that parties using them will assess independently the suitability of each security for investment or transaction purposes. Scope’s credit ratings address relative credit risk, they do not address other risks such as market, liquidity, legal, or volatility. The information and data included herein is protected by copyright and other laws. To reproduce, transmit, transfer, disseminate, translate, resell, or store for subsequent use for any such purpose the information and data contained herein, contact Scope Ratings GmbH at Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin. Public Ratings are generally accessible to the public. Subscription Ratings and Private Ratings are confidential and may not be shared with any unauthorised third party.