Barminco Wins Three-Year Contract at Kundana Gold Mine, a Credit Positive
On 15 June, Barminco Holdings Pty Limited (B2 negative) was awarded an AUD275 million three-year contract at Kundana gold mine, which is majority owned and operated by Northern Star, and located in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The award is credit positive because the new contract will add about 22% to Barminco’s AUD412 million revenue earned in fiscal 2015 (ended 30 June 2015) and, if it has maintained its usual contract margins, the new contract should add about 19% to Barminco’s fiscal 2015 EBITDA of AUD98 million. The increase in revenue and earnings will help the company maintain its leverage as measured by adjusted debt/EBITDA within the parameters set for its B2 rating at less than 5.25x, in an otherwise challenging environment. We expect the new contract is one of Barminco’s largest and increases the company’s exposure to the gold sector (Exhibit 1). EXHIBIT 1 Barminco Holdings’ Revenue from Gold and Other Commodities Source: Barminco Annual Report and Moody’s Investors Service estimates As shown in Exhibit 2, gold prices – especially in Australian Dollar (AUD) terms, given the weakening of the AUD – have remained relatively stable. Gold prices have not declined by the same magnitude as base metals and bulk commodities. The increased exposure to gold is credit positive because we expect gold prices to remain range bound in the next 12-18 months.