Credit ratings

Air Liquide’s credit ratings

Credit opinion published by S&P on July 28, 2021
Credit opinion published by Moody's on September 13, 2022

Standard & Poor's

S&P long term credit ratings history

Rationales behind S&P A rating are excellent Business Risk as well as adequate Liquidity and an intermediate Financial Risk. S&P puts a strong focus on Air Liquide‘s earnings resilience and stable cash flow generation when analyzing the company's profitability and financial metrics. S&P views Air Liquide's profitability as less volatile than that of most specialty chemical companies. S&P underlines the high investments of Air Liquide in the energy transition and particularly in the hydrogen business which represents a significant growth opportunity for the Group. 

The “stable” outlook means that Air Liquide benefits from a balanced financial profile, namely through the resilience of its CapEx, acquisitions, divestitures and shareholder distributions. S&P expects the FFO/Net debt ratio to remain sustainably over 30% for the next two years, thus enabling Air Liquide to maintain an “A” rating. 

The agency rates corporate issuers as follows:

• Long-term ratings, in decreasing order: AAA (best), AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C, D, SD (Selectively Defaulted). The rating is completed by + or -. Companies with ratings above BB+ are considered investment grade and those below non investment grade
• Short-term ratings, in decreasing order: A-1+ (best), A-1, A-2, A-3, B, C, D

Moody's

Moody’s long term credit ratings history

Moody’s rated Air Liquide’s long term credit profile for the first time on May 24th, 2016.

Moody’s decided to upgrade Air Liquide’s rating from A3 to A2. This decision highlights the stability and the resilience of the Group’s earnings and cash flow generation despite the fluctuation of the economy. The rating is also based on the resilience of the Group's revenues and profits thanks to the strong diversification of the markets in which Air Liquide operates. 

The upgrade of the short-term rating reflects in particular Air Liquide’s strong liquidity profile. 

Moody's expects Air Liquide to continue to strike the right balance between capital expenditure and acquisitions, shareholder returns and deleveraging to strengthen its credit indicators. 

The stable outlook reflects the expectation that Air Liquide's credit metrics will improve and remain in line with expectations for its A2 rating. 

The agency rates the issuing companies as follows:

• Long-term debt rating, in descending order: Aaa (highest rating), Aa, A, Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C (in "selective default"). The rating is completed by a 1 (best rating in the category), 2 or 3. Companies with a rating above BB+ are considered investment grade and those with a rating of Ba1 or below are considered non-investment grade.
• Short-term debt ratings, in descending order: P-1 (highest rating), P-2, P-3, "Not Prime".

Scope Ratings

Scope published for the first time Air Liquide’s issuer rating of A with a “positive” outlook in May 2023. The rating is supported by Air Liquide’s strong profitability and reflects its market position, expertise, diversification, as well as its long-term contracts. Scope also included an evaluation of Air Liquide's ESG approach and considered it a positive factor in its assessment.

The “positive” outlook reflects the expectation that Air Liquide’s credit metrics will improve in the  medium term.

The agency rates corporate issuers as follows:

• Long-term ratings, in decreasing order: AAA (best), AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C, D. The rating is completed by + or -. Companies with ratings above BB+ are considered investment grade and those below non investment grade.
• Short-term ratings, in decreasing order: S-1+ (best), S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4.