DBRS Rates GTAA’s $400 Million Medium-Term Note Issue at “A”

DBRS has today assigned a rating of “A” with a Stable trend to the $400 million Medium-Term Note Series 2011-2 (the Notes) issue of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA or the Authority). Maturing in December 2041, the Notes are senior obligations of GTAA and rank pari passu with all other senior obligations of the Authority. The rating is consistent with those previously assigned by DBRS on the Authority’s outstanding bonds. Net debt proceeds will be used to repay part of the $500 million MTN Series 2002-1 maturing on January 30, 2012, and for general corporate purposes.

DBRS notes that the filing of American Airlines and its affiliate American Eagle for bankruptcy protection in the United States is likely to lead to some modest service rationalization across the companies’ network. However, it is not expected to have a material impact on GTAA’s performance, given the relatively low proportion of airline traffic represented by the two companies at Toronto Pearson International Airport and recent indications that American Airlines and its affiliate will continue to fly normal schedules during the procedures. Furthermore, the tight fee collection policies of the Authority are likely to have kept receivables very modest.

No other material development has been noted by DBRS since the completion of its annual review and the publication of its rating report on GTAA on November 9, 2011. The report is available at www.dbrs.com or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

Note:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The applicable methodology is Rating Canadian Airport Authorities, which can be found on our website under Methodologies.