SAN FRANCISCO - S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A+' long-term rating to the following proposed bonds being issued by the San Francisco City and County Airport Commission:

  • $807.2 million second series revenue bonds, series 2019E (AMT);
  • $112.4 million second series revenue bonds, series 2019F (Non-AMT/governmental purpose);
  • $39.4 million second series revenue bonds, series 2019G (federally taxable); and
  • $272.9 million second series revenue refunding bonds, series 2019H (AMT).

At the same time, we affirmed our 'A+' long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on the commission's other parity debt outstanding. The above ratings were assigned and affirmed using S&P Global Ratings' "U.S. And Canadian Not-For-Profit Transportation Infrastructure Enterprises" criteria, published March 12, 2018 on RatingsDirect.

Finally, we affirmed our 'AA+/A-1' dual rating on various other bonds outstanding, reflecting the application of joint criteria, assuming low correlation.

All bonds are being or were issued for the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect our opinion of the airport's extremely strong enterprise risk profile and adequate financial risk profile.

"The extremely strong enterprise risk profile reflects our view of SFO's role as a large connecting hub of very high international, national, regional, and strategic importance, and SFO's robust service area economy," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Paul Dyson. "The adequate financial risk profile reflects our expectation that coverage will remain adequate and liquidity will remain strong," Mr. Dyson added.

The commission will use series 2019E, 2019F, 2019G, and 2019H bond proceeds to finance a portion ($955 million) of costs to complete various airport capital improvement projects, to refund certain commercial paper notes outstanding, to refund various debt outstanding and terminate associated swaps, and to fund an $8 million deposit to the contingency fund.

The stable outlook reflects our expectation that SFO's enplanement trends will remain generally favorable and that management will maintain coverage (S&P Global Ratings-calculated) we consider adequate within or near a range of 1.1x to 1.2x.

Source: S&P Global Ratings