S&P Global Ratings affirmed its corporate credit and issue ratings on Australian real estate investment trust Vicinity Centres at A, with a stable outlook.

The rating agency attributed the affirmation to the shopping center-focused REIT's moderate financial policies and a solid and stable financial profile, proved by the net debt-to-net tangible assets ratio of 26.6% for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2017.

S&P Global Ratings said the company's plan to introduce mixed-use developments will be accompanied with execution risks. However, the rating agency believes that the senior management of the REIT has a long association with the portfolio and a solid track record of growing the asset base that supports its strong position.

The rating agency also revised its liquidity assessment on the company to adequate from strong, reflecting the amount of maturing debt and the refinancing events of the company over the next two years.

The stable outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings' expectation that the quality and variety of Vicinity's portfolio will help reduce its earnings volatility and the company will continue to recycle assets and seek capital partners to meet its investment targets while cushioning its balance sheet.

This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings documents referred to in this news brief can be found here.