Moody’s and Fitch Issue Strong Short-Term Ratings for Aramco Commercial securities

Moody’s and Fitch have affirmed Saudi Aramco’s strong financial position, as the two agencies have assigned strong short-term ratings to the energy giant’s newly established $10 billion US commercial securities program.

According to Moody’s, the agency has assigned the energy giant a Prime-1 short-term issuer rating and reaffirmed its Aa3 long-term issuer rating with a stable outlook.

It added that Saudi Aramco has excellent liquidity, with its cash balance and operating cash flows significantly exceeding its needs to meet debt maturities, meet investment commitments, and pay dividends over the next 12-18 months.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a short-term rating of F1+, highlighting Aramco’s strong intrinsic ability to make timely payments and financial flexibility.

Fitch said Saudi Aramco’s financial position benefits from strong pre-dividend free cash flow generation and conservative fiscal policies, while its commercial position is characterised by large-scale production, large reserves, low production costs and expansion in the downstream and petrochemicals sector.