2023 UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT

25.3 Credit ratings and financial covenants

Credit ratings

At 31 December 2023, the Group’s credit ratings were as follows:

	Agency	Long-term	Outlook	Short-term
non-inclus	non-inclus	Rating
VINCI SA	Standard & Poor’s	A−	Stable	A2
VINCI SA	Moody’s	A3	Stable	P2
ASF	Standard & Poor’s	A−	Stable	A2
ASF	Moody’s	A3	Stable	P2
Cofiroute	Standard & Poor’s	A−	Stable	A2
*Gatwick Funding Limited^()**	Standard & Poor’s	BBB	Stable
	Moody’s	Baa2	Stable
	Fitch	BBB+	Stable

(*) Company that raises funding for London Gatwick airport.

In 2023, rating agencies confirmed or updated their views as follows:

As regards VINCI SA, Moody’s confirmed its long term rating of A3 with stable outlook in July 2023 and Standard & Poor’s confirmed its A long term and A2 short term ratings with stable outlook in November 2023.
As regards ASF, Moody’s confirmed its long term rating of A3 with stable outlook in July 2023 and Standard & Poor’s confirmed its A long-term and A2 short term ratings with stable outlook in June 2023.
As regards Cofiroute, Standard & Poor’s confirmed its A long term and A2 short term ratings with stable outlook in June 2023.
As regards Gatwick Funding Limited, Fitch raised its outlook from negative to stable, while confirming its long term rating of BBB+, and Moody’s raised its outlook from stable to positive, while confirming its long term rating of Baa2, in January 2024.

Financial covenants

Some financing agreements include early repayment clauses applicable in the event of non-compliance with financial ratios.

The Group regularly monitors developments in relation to these financial covenants and pays particular attention to finance agreements that could give rise to risks of it failing to comply with financial ratios in the short and medium term.

Talks take place with lenders as the case may be to inform them of potential instances of default related to such failures. Group entities seeking to renegotiate some of their financing terms have been able to reach agreements.

In particular, waivers and amendments were obtained by London Gatwick airport in September 2021 in relation to its bank and bond debt, which is subject to covenants, for a total amount of £3.0 billion at 31 December 2023. The agreement mainly consisted of the following:

an exemption from the requirement to comply, in December 2021 and June 2022, with the two financial ratios (interest coverage ratio and debt ratio) provided for in its financing agreements (at 31 December 2023, these financial ratios were maintained);
a change to the method for calculating the debt ratio until June 2024 in order to adjust for the exceptional impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the airport’s Ebitda.

Other agreements subject to covenants do not involve material amounts (individual amounts below €300 million).

26. Net cash managed and available resources

Accounting policies

Cash and cash equivalents comprise current accounts at banks and short-term liquid investments subject to negligible risks of fluctuations of value. Cash equivalents include money market UCITS and certificates of deposit with maturities not exceeding three months at the origin. Bank overdrafts are not included in cash and are reported on the balance sheet under “Current financial liabilities”. “Cash management financial assets” comprises investments in money market securities and bonds, and units in UCITS, made with a short-term management objective, that do not satisfy the IAS 7 criteria for recognition as cash. They are measured and recognised at their fair value. Changes in value are recognised in profit or loss. Purchases and sales of cash management financial assets are recognised at their transaction date.

At 31 December 2023, the Group’s available resources amounted to €21.2 billion, including €13.2 billion of net cash managed and €8.0 billion of confirmed medium-term credit facilities remaining unused. These available resources enable the Group to manage its liquidity risk (see Note J.25.2 “Net financial debt maturity schedule”).