The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

THE Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) yesterday told Tribune Business it had now raised "almost $900 million" via six separate financial transactions, having just closed the final $225 million round to fund Lynden Pindling International Airport's (LPIA) $409.5 million redevelopment.

Responding to Tribune Business's questions, Stewart Steeves, NAD's president and chief executive, said the latest funds would be used to replenish NAD's revolving credit facility, and finance completion of LPIA's stage two and three construction.

Adding that NAD's investment grade rating was likely to strengthen further, Mr Steeves said 30 institutional investors had participated in the latest $225 million round. Some $135 million of that sum will be received by NAD in May 2012, with the remainder coming in this August.

"In total, we've raised almost $900 million dollars in financing and refinancing in six separate transactions," Mr Steeves told Tribune Business. "This round of financing has two funding tranche -$135 million in May and $90 million in August. We have approximately 30 institutional investors, including insurance companies."

Tribune Business understands that the latest $225 million round attracted investments from several Bahamas-based investment houses and money managers, with the financing divided into separate US and Bahamian dollar tranches. Market sources told this newspaper that both currencies carried a 6.34 per cent interest rate coupon.

Disclosing to Tribune Business that NAD's "overall financial performance has met and exceeded the plan we established five years ago", Mr Steeves said the LPIA operator's credit rating was set to receive a further boost as the Bahamian aviation market expanded via projects such as Baha Mar's $2.6 billion Cable Beach redevelopment.

"Our investment grade rating is stable, and we expect that it will strengthen as market expansion continues to occur in Nassau with projects like Baha Mar coming on stream," the NAD chief executive told Tribune Business.

"Speaking to the entire project, I would say it was more challenging than anticipated due to the global economic crisis over the past five years. We were quite fortunate to be able to raise the financing during the crisis, when many other businesses were not as successful.

"At the most recent financing we were more successful than anticipated. In fact, we were oversubscribed. We worked closely with our bankers and investment team to determine the best strategies to secure proper funding for a project of this magnitude."

NAD suffered an almost-36 per cent net income decline to $7.77 million for the year ended on June 30, 2011, but still maintained its credit rating and was able to service its debt.

The LPIA operator also recorded a $5.3 million year-over-year revenue increase to close the year with a $46.7 million top-line, although non-operating costs were up $8.1 million at $19.7 million.

Assessing progress on LPIA's redevelopment and construction, Mr Steeves told Tribune Business: "Stage three will begin when stage two is completed in October. Stage three will take approximately 13 months to complete. The overall the project is trending on schedule and on budget.

"We've invested approximately $100 million on stage two so far, and we are about two-thirds complete. Approximately three-quarters of the workforce is Bahamian. The percentage value of work to Bahamian companies so far is around 30 per cent."

Among NAD's key goals with its financing are to maintain competitive rates at LPIA, ensure no government guarantees are needed and to maintain an investment grade credit rating. The debt is serviced from increased commercial revenues.

The US departures terminal opened in March 2011 at a cost of $191 million, and the new international arrivals terminal and pier will be completed this autumn.