It cited concerns over debt refinancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Philippines.-\u00a0Fitch Ratings<\/strong>\u00a0has given Universal Entertainment (UE)\u00a0<\/strong>a\u00a0‘B-‘\u00a0Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and a\u00a0‘B-‘\u00a0rating on its outstanding US-dollar senior secured notes, now on rating watch negative (RWN). It made the move due to the fact that the maturity of US$760m in notes, which makes up most of the company’s debt, in December 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the company is in advanced stages of a closing a refinancing plan,\u00a0there are\u00a0no legally binding commitment\u00a0in place. Fitch said it would resolve the\u00a0rating watch negative if the company successfully refinances its debt while any delays “will likely lead to further negative actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “While our analysis suggests that all the debt instruments would\u00a0be fully recovered, we note that a significant amount of\u00a0UE’s\u00a0enterprise value (EV)\u00a0is tied\u00a0to assets located in the Philippines. Therefore, the country cap for the Philippines will be applied, which limits the Recovery Rating to\u00a0‘RR4’\u00a0as per\u00a0Fitch’s\u00a0Country Specific Treatment of Recovery Ratings Criteria,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fitch forecast that after a strong 2023 performance,\u00a0UE’s\u00a0revenue growth will level off in 2024\u00a0before rising from 2025 at a moderate rate.\u00a0Analysts have revised\u00a0down\u00a0their revenue forecast for the\u00a0company’s\u00a0IR in the\u00a0Philippines despite their positive outlook based on the\u00a0country’s\u00a0strong economic growth and increasing visitor numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UE’s\u00a0IR revenue declined quarter over quarter in Q4 and Q1 due to weaker performance in the VIP segment. UE recorded\u00a0net sales of\u00a0JPY34.4bn (US$220m)<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0first quarter of the year.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0decline of\u00a03\u00a0per cent when\u00a0compared to last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n