Auckland Airport trims top end of likely bond interest rate

By Paul McBeth

Sept. 26 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland International Airport has trimmed what it thinks it will have to pay investors on a six-year bond.

The airport operator's new indicative margin for the note is now 0.95 percent to 1 percent above the swap rate, compared to the 0.95 percent-to-1.05 percent range it issued just two days ago.

Over that period, the six-year swap rate has increased 1 basis point to 2.54 percent, implying the new bond will pay annual interest at 3.49 percent to 3.54 percent. The bookbuild will be completed today.

The company's weighted average interest cost was 4.2 percent as at June 30, down from 4.5 percent a year earlier.

The swap rate hit a two-year low of 2.39 percent earlier this month, before rising on lower than expected US tariffs on Chinese goods and better than expected domestic GDP growth.

Listed companies have been keen to sell debt at a comparatively cheap rate to borrowing from the bank. Some $838 million was raised through 19 debt issues on the NZX in the first eight months of the year.

Auckland Airport wants to raise as much as $175 million through the bond issue to help fund a decade-long $2 billion upgrade to its infrastructure.

The offer opened on Monday and will close today. There was no public pool for the offer.

Auckland Airport shares slipped 0.3 percent to $7.43.

(BusinessDesk)

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