Correction - Fitch Rates Greenwich Hospital (Connecticut) Series 2008 Bonds 'AA-'; Outlook Stable.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- This is a correction for a press release that was published April 9, 2008. It corrects the dollar amount of the revenue bonds in the first paragraph and the CHEFA CHEFA Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority certificates amount in the second paragraph.) Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has assigned an underlying 'AA-' rating to the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) $55.1 million revenue bonds, series 2008C, to be issued on behalf of Greenwich Hospital Greenwich Hospital can refer to:
Bond proceeds will be used to refund approximately $54.5 million in outstanding CHEFA auction rate certificates (Greenwich Hospital), issued in 2006. The series 2008 bonds will be issued as variable rate demand bonds, supported by a direct pay letter of credit. Fitch expects to assign ratings based on bank support closer to the bond sale. The 'AA-' rating reflects the hospital's very strong debt service coverage, low debt burden, strong philanthropic support, and affiliation with Yale-New Haven Health System, coupled with five years of solid liquidity and stable profitability. Bondholder Bondholder A firm often has stockholders and bondholders. In a liquidation, the bondholders have first priority. bondholder An individual or institution that owns bonds in a corporation or other organization. risks are minimal with maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage of 7.5 times (x), MADS as a percentage of revenue of 1.5%, and a cushion ratio of 30.7x for fiscal year 2007 (year ending Sept. 30), well ahead of Fitch's 'AA' medians of 5.6x, 2.7% and 20.4x, respectively. Moreover, the expectation of bottom line stability and the absence of additional debt plans and major capital needs strongly indicate the continuation of strong coverage and very manageable debt service requirements. GH's liquidity is moderately below Fitch's 'AA' category median, reflecting its practice of funding the majority of its capital needs through internal funds internal funds Funds that are raised within a firm. For example, income after taxes and noncash expenses, such as depreciation, provide a firm with funds to use in the acquisition of investments. and philanthropic support. In fiscal year 2007, the system had $121.1 million in unrestricted cash and investments, which calculates to 192.6 days cash on hand, not including $38.8 million of endowment funds Endowment funds Investment funds established for the support of institutions such as colleges, private schools, museums, hospitals, and foundations. The investment income may be used for the operation of the institution and for capital expenditures. , In fiscal year 2006 and 2007, capital expenditures as a percentage of depreciation were 161.7% and 168.5%., respectively, consistent with Fitch's 'AA' medians. Cash to debt ratios are also very strong at 230.6% in fiscal 2007. Operating margins Operating Margin A ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Calculated by: , averaging 2.1% over the past five years, have been stable and excess margins are very good with the hospital earning 9.0% in fiscal year 2006 (year ending Sept. 30) and 8.8% in 2007. Greenwich Hospital, the only hospital in Greenwich, CT, has the leading market share in its primary service area, which consists of Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States:
Credit risks are minimal, but include the challenge of managing increasing patient volumes from Westchester County, whose payor mix has led to a slight increase in Medicaid revenues and bad debt expense. The hospital's options for accommodating further growth in inpatient volume through facility expansion are somewhat limited on their main campus. Concerns about the hospital's relatively small size for the rating level are more than offset by GH's exceptional debt service coverage and strong philanthropic support. The Stable Rating Outlook reflects the strength of the hospital's market position, light debt load, minimal capital needs, and the Yale-New Haven affiliation. Profitability should remain consistent with historic levels, moderately improving an already strong balance sheet. Located in Greenwich, CT, the hospital operates 174 beds and had total revenue of approximately $259 million in fiscal year 2007. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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