Fitch Rates Del Mar College Dist., Texas, $25.5MM Rev Bonds 'A'.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 -- 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. assigns an 'A' rating to Del Mar College Del Mar College is a community college in Corpus Christi, Texas. About Del Mar College Founded in 1935, the institution is a comprehensive community college. The College encompasses two primary campuses and one campus annex with combined physical assets of more than $99 District's (DMCD) $25.5 million combined revenue bonds, series 2008. Additionally, Fitch affirms the 'A' rating on the district's outstanding $8.4 million combined revenue bonds. The series 2008 bonds are scheduled to price March 11 via negotiation. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The bonds are secured by a maximum of 25% of tuition charges collected from all regularly enrolled students of the district, a building use fee and a matriculation ma·tric·u·late tr. & intr.v. ma·tric·u·lat·ed, ma·tric·u·lat·ing, ma·tric·u·lates To admit or be admitted into a group, especially a college or university. n. fee collected from all students, and income revenues earned on certain district funds. Proceeds will finance various capital improvement projects of the district. The 'A' rating is based on the district's historically positive financial performance, the revenue raising flexibility of the district due to its low tuition rates, and moderate debt burden with no additional borrowing planned. As is the case of other college districts in Texas, the DMCD is susceptible to state funding declines. However, increased tuition rates and increasing income revenues have enabled the district to maintain favorable operating margins Operating Margin A ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Calculated by: and adequate liquidity. Generally break-even operations are typical for public colleges and universities. Except for one negative margin in fiscal 2003 associated with a 7% mid-year reduction in state support, DMCD's operating margins have been consistently positive and uptrending. Audited fiscal 2007 results yielded a solid operating margin of 7.2% compared to 5.6% in fiscal 2006. Liquidity levels declined but remained adequate in fiscal 2007 as bond proceeds were expended ex·pend tr.v. ex·pend·ed, ex·pend·ing, ex·pends 1. To lay out; spend: expending tax revenues on government operations. See Synonyms at spend. 2. on capital projects. In fiscal 2007, DMCD's available funds to operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. represented nearly 58.4% (or seven months) of operations, compared to 81.3% in fiscal 2006. Fiscal 2007 available funds to total debt equaled 48.2% compared to 61.7% in fiscal 2006. Total pro forma As a matter of form or for the sake of form. Used to describe accounting, financial, and other statements or conclusions based upon assumed or anticipated facts. The phrase pro forma debt reduces this ratio further to 39.4%. The availability of an operations and management (O&M) property tax partially offsets the need for higher liquidity levels. In addition, the fundraising capability of the district's foundation is considered a credit strength, as many two-year community colleges do not have fundraising capabilities. District enrollment has been essentially flat over the past five fall terms, although it has shown some fluctuation reportedly due to the strength of the local economy. Headcount decreased 5.4% in fall 2007 to 11,352 after increasing 5.8% in fall 2006. Increasing enrollment remains an important factor in the rating, particularly given declines in state appropriations. Despite recent increases, tuition rates remain very competitive and well below area four-year public institutions. In addition, unlike four-year public institutions in Texas, which require legislative approval, college districts require only board approval for tuition hikes. DMCD's total debt, while uptrending, remains moderate. The series 2008 bonds increase the district's outstanding revenue debt from a low $8.4 million to $33.9 million. In addition to its consolidated revenue debt, DMCD has approximately $105 million in outstanding general obligation (GOs rated 'AA' by Fitch) and capital lease debt. Although amortization of total debt is slightly below average, DMCD's total pro forma maximum annual debt service (MADS) of $12 million (occurring in 2016) represents a moderate 11.9% of its operating revenues. No additional revenue or GO bond borrowing is planned. Located in Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, in Christianity Corpus Christi [Lat.,=body of Christ], feast of the Western Church, observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (or on the following Sunday). , TX (GO bonds rated 'AA-' by Fitch), Del Mar College was founded in 1935, and serves a population of 320,000 in Nueces County and the surrounding area. The district is a two-year comprehensive community college and operates two campuses. 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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