Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has raised its ratings on North Sumter County Utility Dependent District (NSCUDD), Fla.'s series 2010 utility revenue bonds to A from BBB-plus and on the district's series 2010 subordinate utility revenue bonds to A-minus from BBB.
The outlook is stable.
"The upgrade reflects our assessment of good historical financial performance and very strong liquidity levels, which we expect will continue," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Joseph Pezzimenti.
Credit strengths include the following: a sound financial position, with good total debt service coverage (DSC) and a very strong liquidity position that we expect to continue due to planned automatic annual rate increases and no plans to fund capital needs with draws on unrestricted cash balances; rate flexibility from rates we consider affordable relative to service area wealth levels, and management's ability to raise rates as needed to fund debt service obligations; a diverse and primarily residential customer base, with little ratepayer concentration, in a service area that has experienced strong population growth; and a manageable capital improvement program with no additional debt plans.
