11:07 AM EDT, 06/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday affirmed its "BBB" long-term issuer credit rating on Nutrien ( NTR ) on a resilient operating model.

The rating agency also affirmed the "BBB" issue-level rating on the Canadian fertilizer company's unsecured debt and the short-term "A-2" global scale and global scale commercial paper ratings on Nutrien ( NTR ).

S&P noted that Nutrien's ( NTR ) large-scale, integrated, and well-diversified crop nutrient operations and track record of sustaining strong margins has positioned it favorably relative to global peers and is reflected in the agency's improved business risk profile assessment to strong.

Also, S&P has lowered the financial risk assessment to reflect the weakness from exceptionally strong levels in 2022. "We believe fertilizer prices will remain subdued over the forecast period due to weak global demand," the agency noted.

"The stable outlook reflects our view that the relative stability of the retail operations and management's continued adherence to a balanced financial policy will enable Nutrien ( NTR ) to maintain its earnings and credit measure performance, with average projected S&P Global Ratings-adjusted funds from operations (FFO) to debt of 40%-45% and debt to EBITDA of 1.5x-2.0x over our five-year forecast period," the agency said.

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