Fitch Rates Nemours Foundation (Florida) $24.6MM Ser 2007 Bonds 'F1+'.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 a short-term rating of 'F1+' to $24.6 million Jacksonville Health Facilities Authority (the authority) tax-exempt health facilities revenue bonds, series 2007, issued on behalf of The Nemours Foundation The Nemours Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1936 from the 1935 Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust [1]. During his lifetime, Alfred I. du Pont was a successful industrialist, prolific inventor, published musician and quiet benefactor to a multitude (Nemours). At this time, Fitch also affirms Nemours' outstanding long-term rating of 'AAA' on all of its outstanding debt. The bonds are an unsecured general obligation of Nemours. The auction period of the bonds will be extended to a flexible auction period of nine months from its current seven days on or about April 24. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'AAA' rating reflects Nemours' substantial liquidity, positive operating performance and management's proactive style. Nemours' sizeable resources will allow them to handle future capital projects, including their plans for the construction of a 95-bed children's hospital A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties. in Orlando, Florida The city of Orlando is a major city in central Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 185,951. A 2006 U.S. . Nemours is essentially the sole beneficiary of the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust testamentary trust n. a trust created by the terms of a will. Example: "The residue of my estate shall form the corpus (body) of a trust, with the executor as trustee, for my children's health and education, which shall terminate when the last child attains the age (the du Pont Du Pont (d  pŏnt), family notable in U.S. industrial history. The Du Pont family's importance began when Eleuthère Irénée Du Pont established a gunpowder mill on the Trust) valued at $4.6 billion as of Dec.
31, 2007. Nemours' annual trust distribution, calculated at 3% of
the trust's market value as of the end of the prior fiscal year,
was $132 million in fiscal 2007, representing 21% of total unrestricted
revenues.
Liquidity, as measured by Nemours' unrestricted and temporarily restricted cash and investments, is significant at $708 million for fiscal 2007, compared with unrestricted expenses of $571 million and low outstanding debt of approximately $81 million. The low debt burden can be attributed to Nemours' history of funding capital improvements with cash flow and the distribution it receives from the duPont Trust. Maximum annual debt service (MADS) is $4.73 million and represents a minimal 0.7% of 2007 unrestricted revenues. The primary credit concerns include Nemours' exposure to the volatile health care industry and a significant reduction in the value of the duPont Trust. Patient care revenues, which were 71% of 2007 revenues, represent Nemours' largest funding source. Like other health care providers in the U.S., Nemours has had to adjust budgets to reflect changes due to rising expenses and third-party payors. Nemours' ability to adjust for these challenges is reflected in its consistently positive operating performance. A significant reduction in the market value of the trust would result in a decrease in the trust's distribution to Nemours (its second-largest funding source), which could have an adverse effect on its financial performance. Fitch believes that the Trust's strong sense of duty to provide financial support of the Nemours' mission in perpetuity Of endless duration; not subject to termination. The phrase in perpetuity is often used in the grant of an Easement to a utility company. in perpetuity adj. forever, as in one's right to keep the profits from the land in perpetuity. works to assure that the Trustees will make the necessary strategic decisions over time to maintain the value of the Trust. The short-term 'F1+' rating is based upon the internal liquidity of Nemours. The rating is primarily supported by Nemours' significant level of highly rated, highly liquid investments. As of Feb. 28, 2008, Nemours had $664 million of cash and investment assets. Of this total, $132 million represented overnight available funds, $425 million represented funds available within two to five days, and the remainder available after 30 days. For Fitch's liquidity analysis, only the overnight available funds were considered in assigning the 'F1+' rating. Based on current investment levels, which have been consistent over time, Nemours would be able to fund the $24.5 million of series 2007 bonds, in the event they were not able to be remarketed, by at least 5.3 times (x). Nemours is a Florida not-for-profit corporation A not-for-profit corporation is a corporation created by statute, government or judicial authority that is not intended to provide a profit to the owners or members. A corporation that is organized to provide profits to its owners or members is a for-profit corporation. created by the last will and testament of Alfred I. duPont to provide for 'the care and treatment of crippled children.' Established in 1936, Nemours is an operating foundation with a focus on two major areas: clinical operations and services; and health promotion and advocacy. 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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