PKN ORLEN with a record-high rating from Moody’s
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded PKN ORLEN’s rating to Baa1, the highest on the company's record. The upgrade was driven by effective M&A processes at PKN ORLEN, including the recently completed merger with Grupa LOTOS and another merger with PGNiG currently nearing completion, as well as the ORLEN Group’s sound financial footing. The rating outlook for PKN ORLEN remains positive. According to Moody's, successful acquisition of gas assets may result in a further upgrade of the rating assigned to PKN ORLEN as the leader of Poland's energy transition.
- We keep investing in the ORLEN Group’s growth, we are reinforcing our existing business operations and expanding into new prospective business areas, effectively consolidating energy sector players both in Poland and across the larger region. At the same time, we are reporting sound financial performance while keeping the Group’s debt under tight control. Our efforts have yielded tangible results, which was recognised by Moody's. The rating upgrade takes into account the recently finalised merger between PKN ORLEN and Grupa LOTOS and, following the almost unanimous decisions by the Shareholders of both companies at their respective Extraordinary General Meetings, is yet another proof that the merger was the right business move to make. The high rating also confirms Moody’s positive assessment of PKN ORLEN’s strategy to build a multi-utility group, including the upcoming merger with PGNiG - said Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.
Along with the upgrade of PKN ORLEN’s rating from Baa2 to Baa1, Moody’s has also raised the company’s Baseline Credit Assessment from Baa3 to Baa2. The ratings of PKN ORLEN’s Euro Medium Term Note programme, as well as PKN ORLEN’s EUR 500m issue of Eurobonds due in 2028 and ORLEN Capital AB’s EUR 750m issue of Eurobonds due in 2023, were also increased to Baa1. The outlook for all upgraded ratings is positive.
PKN ORLEN’s high ratings reflect the company’s increasingly central role in Poland’s economic growth. Moody’s pointed primarily to the effects of consistent diversification efforts and growing scale of the company’s operations, as well as its solid and stable financial standing.
PKN ORLEN has been effectively strengthening all areas of its operations not only through ongoing M&A processes, but also through investments in capabilities across all Group companies. In the first six months of 2022 alone, the Group’s investments reached PLN 6.3 billion, almost as much as its total capex figure in the period 2014–2015. By the end of 2022, PKN ORLEN plans to spend a total of PLN 15.2bn on investments.