Ørsted called it a ”top priority” to maintain its credit rating after serious problems for the company in the US. Now the rhetoric has changed, and the rating has been lowered by one of the major agencies, Børsen writes.

Billion-dollar write-downs in the US have put pressure on the capital structure at Ørsted, which in early February presented a plan to lift the company out of the crisis.

In the fall, the problems and the higher risk in the offshore wind industry prompted three major rating agencies to threaten to lower Ørsted’s credit rating, which is of significant importance to the company’s business.

In early February, Ørsted presented an annual report showing a loss of DKK 20.2bn (EUR 2.7bn), which meant that dividends were put on hold, divestments accelerated, and the investment plan downgraded.

Despite the crisis plan, the rating agency S&P shortly afterwards took the consequence and downgraded the rating from ”BBB+” to ”BBB”.

The next step is ”BBB-”, and if you fall below that, you no longer have a high credit rating, but instead a ”junk” status.

”We got a strong reaction from S&P. But now it’s clear that there’s nothing more on the way right now. So, ratings-wise, there will be calm for now, as long as Ørsted delivers what is expected of them. If the world comes crashing down around Ørsted, it may well be that the rating agencies will change their view of the industry, but in all likelihood, things are calm for now,” says Jens Houe Thomsen, senior credit analyst at Jyske Bank, to Børsen.

The two other rating agencies, Moody’s and Fitch, have maintained Ørsted’s credit rating. However, Moody’s still sees a risk that the rating will have to be lowered.

Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Kristoffer Grønbæk