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Rating action

Scope Ratings GmbH (Scope) has today affirmed the B/Stable issuer rating of Hungarian honey packaging company Aranynektár Kft (Aranynektár). It has also affirmed the B+ rating on Aranynektár’s senior unsecured bond (ISIN HU0000359559) that is guaranteed by Fulmer GmbH’s Hungarian Branch (Fulmer).

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

Key rating drivers

The rating of Aranynektár continues to be determined by the credit quality of its sister company Fulmer. Aranynektár packages honey for Fulmer, which owns all assets used by the issuer and is its sole customer. Management has not indicated any plans to expand Aranynektár’s activities beyond those of Fulmer. Therefore, Scope considers Aranynektár to be fully dependent on Fulmer as a severance of the business link.

Business risk profile: B (unchanged). Aranynektár’s business risk profile continues to be supported by its relatively strong but volatile operating profitability and its geographically diverse customer portfolio. However, it is hindered by several factors including: (1) the small size of Fulmer (revenues of EUR 14.4m in FY 2025P), (2) the company’s exposure to a single consumer goods product (packaged honey), (3) high customer concentration with the five largest customers accounting for more than half of revenues (and high dependence on its most important partner, LIDL, which accounted for more than a third of revenues in FY 2025P) and (4) weak brand strength with the majority of sales being private label products.

In FY 2025P, Fulmer’s Scope-adjusted EBITDA margin* decreased to 7.6% from 10.5% due to the company stocking up on expensive raw honey in the previous season and implementing significant wage increases. Scope notes the high volatility of the company’s operating profitability in the past five years, with EBITDA margins ranging from 7% to 20%. This is due to its small customer base, limited bargaining power and fluctuating costs (increasing labour costs, volatile raw honey prices and rising auxiliary material prices). Scope expects that the high inflationary environment will continue to negatively impact the company’s EBITDA margin in the medium term. Therefore, the agency anticipates that Fulmer’s EBITDA margin will remain at the lower end of the historical range at 7% for FY 2026 and FY 2027.

Scope also highlights that Aranynektár Kft. has reported negative EBITDA between FY 2023 and FY 2025P, primarily due to rising wages. This would result in group-level EBITDA margins being 50 to 150 basis points lower than Fulmer’s reported margins if consolidated financials were published (ESG: credit-negative governance factor).

Financial risk profile: BB (revised from BB+). The company’s financial risk profile benefits from strong interest cover and moderate leverage but is constrained by volatile and very weak cash flow cover. The cash flow cover is negatively impacted by Aranynektár’s capital expenditure plans and working capital fluctuations. As Scope expects operating profitability to remain under pressure in the medium term, credit metrics are forecast to remain at deteriorated levels. In terms of the issuer rating, the agency notes that the financial risk profile provides only little support as credit metrics are considered volatile for business-related reasons (such as Aranynektár’s small size and high customer concentration as highlighted in the company’s business risk profile).

Aranynektár’s gross debt consists of a EUR 2.6m long-term bond, a EUR 0.4m long-term loan from an affiliated supplier (both Aranynektár and Fulmer Apiary are owned by Mr. Takács) and a EUR 1.3m overdraft facility that the company uses seasonally to finance its inventory build-up. At FYE 2025P, Aranynektár has decreased its gross debt from EUR 3.5m to EUR 3m by settling another loan with an affiliate company owned by the same owner. The company has no plans to contract additional loans over the next two years. However, if macroeconomic conditions were to significantly worsen, the company might not be able to repay the overdraft facility by the end of the financial year.

Due to the deterioration in operating profitability in FY 2025P, debt/EBITDA has increased to 2.7x from 2.2x YoY and funds from operations (FFO)/debt has decreased to 34% from 43% YoY. Scope expects leverage to remain under pressure, causing debt/EBITDA to stabilise at around 3x and FFO/debt at around 30% in the medium term. The company’s interest cover continues to benefit from the fixed coupon rate of 3.5% on its long-term bond. Scope forecasts the metric to remain at above 10x despite no interest income being assumed which provides good support to the rating.

Although cash flow cover has been significantly negative in previous years due to the ongoing capital expenditure programme, it increased to 54% in FY 2025P due to the volatile working capital changes as the company disposed of its costly inventory. The metric is forecasted to remain positive but to decrease to below 10% and is likely to remain highly volatile in the future.

Liquidity: adequate (unchanged). Despite the pressure on free operating cash flow, Aranynektár’s liquidity profile remains adequate as there are no short-term debt repayments are scheduled for the next two years. The senior unsecured bond has a bullet repayment schedule in 2030 while the intercompany loan matures in 2031. However, Scope notes the volatile intra-year liquidity due to the seasonal utilisation of the overdraft facility for working capital financing (which the agency assumes will be repaid by the end of each financial year), and that the nominal cash level is low as there are no long-term committed financing sources available.

Scope highlights that Aranynektár’s senior unsecured guaranteed bond issued under the Hungarian National Bank’s Bond Funding for Growth Scheme has a covenant requiring the accelerated repayment of the outstanding nominal debt amount (HUF 1.0bn) if the debt rating of the bond stays below B+ for more than two years (grace period) or drops below B- (accelerated repayment within 15 days). Such a development could adversely affect the company’s liquidity profile. The rating headroom to entering the grace period is zero notches. Given the limited rating headroom, the company must at least maintain its current credit profile to avoid triggering the rating-related covenant.

Supplementary rating drivers: -1 notches (unchanged). Scope continues to apply a negative one-notch adjustment to the standalone credit assessment for governance and structure due to 1) structural complexity: the bond was issued by Aranynektár Kft. (a Hungarian limited liability company), but its debt is serviced by Fulmer GmbH (the Hungarian branch of a German limited liability company), as Aranynektár lent the proceeds of the bond to Fulmer, an unconsolidated sister company; 2) transparency: Aranynektár Kft. has reported negative EBITDA between FY 2023 and FY 2025P which would result in lower operating profitability at group level for Fulmer if consolidated financials were to be reported (ESG: credit-negative governance factors).

Thanks to corporate succession planning, the previously flagged key person risk has been addressed in the past year, as the company now has a new management team.

One or more key drivers of the credit rating action are considered ESG factors.

Outlook and rating sensitivities

The Stable Outlook reflects that leverage, measured as debt/EBITDA, will remain around 3x in the medium term while Aranynektár continues its capital expenditure programme. It also assumes that the company will be able to repay its seasonally utilised overdraft loan by the end of FY 2026.

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

1. Improved business risk profile (reduced customer concentration, increased size, Fulmer’s EBITDA margin of at least 10% on a sustained basis) while improving free operating cash flow/debt above 10%;
    
2. Removal of the negative rating adjustment for governance and structure (remote).

The downside scenario for the ratings and Outlook is:

1. Debt/EBITDA increasing above 4.0x on a sustained basis.

Debt rating

Scope has affirmed the B+ rating on the senior unsecured bond issued by Aranynektár and guaranteed by Fulmer. Scope calculates an ‘excellent’ recovery following a hypothetical default in FY 2027 and therefore maintains a one notch of uplift on the issuer rating. The risk that the amount of senior secured debt increases on a path to default constrains the uplift to one notch.

In April 2020, Aranynektár issued a HUF 1.0bn senior unsecured (guaranteed) bond (ISIN: HU0000359559) through the Hungarian Central Bank’s Bond Funding for Growth Scheme. The bond proceeds were used to expand working capital as intended. The bond has a tenor of 10 years and a fixed coupon of 3.5%. Bond repayment is bullet with the full notional payable in 2030 at maturity. In addition to the rating deterioration covenant, the bond covenants include non-payment, insolvency proceedings, cross-default, change of control, dividend-restriction, pari-passu and negative pledge covenants.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors

Scope notes the company’s small size and family-run nature and highlighting transparency issues and a complex structure.

All rating actions and rated entities

Aranynektár Kft.

Issuer rating: B/Stable, affirmation

Senior unsecured (guaranteed) debt instrument rating (ISIN: HU0000359559): B+, affirmation

The rating was prepared following Scope’s Consumer Products Rating Methodology, 31 October 2024. The application of the Consumer Products Rating Methodology, 31 October 2025, does not have an impact on the rating.

*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 Outlook, (General Corporate Rating Methodology, 14 February 2025; Consumer Products Rating Methodology, 31 October 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 Credit Ratings were not requested by the Rated Entity or its Related Third Parties. The Credit Rating process was conducted:
With the Rated Entity or Related Third Party participation   YES
With access to internal documents                                       YES
With access to management                                                YES
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 Outlook and the principal grounds on which the Credit Ratings and Outlook are based. Following that review, the Credit Ratings and Outlook were not amended before being issued.

Regulatory disclosures
These Credit Ratings and Outlook are issued by Scope Ratings GmbH, Lennéstraße 5, D-10785 Berlin, Tel +49 30 27891-0. The Credit Ratings and Outlook are UK-endorsed.
Lead analyst: Vivianne Anna Kápolnai, Associate Director
Person responsible for approval of the Credit Ratings: Sebastian Zank, Managing Director
The issuer Credit Rating/Outlook was first released by Scope Ratings on 30 January 2020. The Credit Rating/Outlook was last updated on 5 November 2024.
The bond's Credit Rating was first released by Scope Ratings on 25 March 2020. The Credit Rating was last updated on 5 November 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.