EVERTEC Announces Credit Rating Upgrade by S&P Global Ratings
Evertec (NYSE: EVTC) announced an upgrade to its issuer credit rating by S&P Global Ratings from 'B+' to 'BB-' with a stable outlook, reflecting its strong credit metrics and conservative balance sheet. S&P noted the company’s resilience amidst challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and expects consistent performance over the next two years due to its solid market position in Puerto Rico and growth in Latin America. This rating follows a similar upgrade by Moody's, enhancing Evertec's financial credibility.
- Upgrade of issuer credit rating to 'BB-' by S&P, indicating stronger financial stability.
- S&P expects consistent financial performance for the next two years.
- Resilience shown during external challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- None.
EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE: EVTC) (“Evertec” or the “Company”) today announced that S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) has upgraded Evertec’s issuer credit rating to 'BB-'/Stable Outlook from 'B+'. As basis for its upgrade, S&P noted Evertec’s conservative balance sheet and solid credit metrics while expanding revenue amid several external impacts including the COVID-19 pandemic. S&P also cited its expectation that Evertec will generate consistent financial performance over the next two years, underpinned by its defensible market position in Puerto Rico and growth opportunities in Latin America.
“We are pleased with S&P Global Ratings’ decision to upgrade our rating to BB- with a stable outlook,” said Joaquín Castrillo, Chief Financial Officer. “This follows our credit rating upgrade by Moody’s last week and further underscores our solid execution and the resiliency of our business model.”
On August 4, 2021, Moody’s Investors Services (“Moody’s”) upgraded Evertec’s corporate family rating to B1 with a stable outlook.
About Evertec
EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE: EVTC) is a leading full-service transaction processing business in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Latin America, providing a broad range of merchant acquiring, payment services and business process management services. Evertec owns and operates the ATH® network, one of the leading personal identification number (“PIN”) debit networks in Latin America. In addition, the Company manages a system of electronic payment networks and offers a comprehensive suite of services for core banking, cash processing and fulfillment in Puerto Rico, that process approximately three billion transactions annually. The Company also offers technology outsourcing in all the regions it serves. Based in Puerto Rico, the Company operates in 26 Latin American countries and serves a diversified customer base of leading financial institutions, merchants, corporations and government agencies with “mission-critical” technology solutions. For more information, visit www.evertecinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of, and subject to the protection of, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of EVERTEC to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements preceded by, followed by, or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” and “plans” and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may,” and “could” are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. Any statements that refer to expectations or other characterizations of future events, circumstances or results are forward-looking statements.
Various factors that could cause actual future results and other future events to differ materially from those estimated by management include, but are not limited to: the Company’s reliance on its relationship with Popular, Inc. ("Popular") for a significant portion of revenue pursuant to the Master Services Agreement (MSA) with Popular and to grow the Company’s merchant acquiring business; as a regulated institution, the likelihood the Company will be required to obtain regulatory approval before engaging in certain new activities or businesses, whether organically or by acquisition, and the Company’s potential inability to obtain such approval on a timely basis or at all, which may make transactions more expensive or impossible to complete, or make the Company less attractive to potential sellers; the Company’s ability to renew its client contracts on terms favorable to the Company, including the Company’s contract with Popular, and any significant concessions the Company may have to grant to Popular with respect to pricing or other key terms in anticipation of the negotiation of the extension of the MSA, both in respect of the current term and any extension of the MSA; dependence on the Company’s processing systems, technology infrastructure, security systems and fraudulent payment detection systems, as well as on the Company’s personnel and certain third parties with whom the Company does business and the risks to the Company’s business if systems are hacked or otherwise compromised; our ability to develop, install and adopt new software, technology and computing systems; a decreased client base due to consolidations in the financial-services industry; the credit risk of the Company’s merchant clients, for which the Company may also be liable; the continuing market position of the ATH® network; a reduction in consumer confidence, whether as a result of a global economic downturn or otherwise, which leads to a decrease in consumer spending; the Company’s dependence on credit card associations, including any adverse changes in credit card association or network rules or fees; changes in the regulatory environment and changes in international, legal, tax, political, administrative or economic conditions; the geographical concentration of the Company’s business in Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities, which are facing severe political and fiscal challenges; additional adverse changes in the general economic conditions in Puerto Rico, whether as a result of the government’s debt crisis or otherwise, including the continued migration of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland, which could negatively affect our customer base, general consumer spending, our cost of operations and our ability to hire and retain qualified employees; operating an international business in Latin America and the Caribbean, in jurisdictions with potential political and economic instability; the Company’s ability to execute its geographic expansion and acquisition strategies, including challenges in successfully acquiring new businesses and integrating and growing acquired businesses; the Company’s ability to protect the Company’s intellectual property rights against infringement and to defend the Company against claims of infringement brought by third parties; the Company’s ability to comply with U.S. federal, state, local and foreign regulatory requirements; evolving industry standards and adverse changes in global economic, political and other conditions; the Company’s level of indebtedness and restrictions contained in the Company’s debt agreements, including the senior secured credit facilities, as well as debt that could be incurred in the future; the Company’s ability to prevent a cybersecurity attack or breach in the Company’s information security; the possibility that the Company could lose its preferential tax rate in Puerto Rico; the possibility of future catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and other potential natural disasters affecting our main markets in Latin America and the Caribbean; uncertainty related to the effect of the discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate at the end of 2021; the nature, timing and amount of any restatement; and the continued impact of COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in response to the outbreak, on our resources, net income and liquidity due to current and future disruptions in operations as well as the macroeconomic instability caused by the pandemic.
Consideration should be given to the areas of risk described above, as well as those risks set forth under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the reports the Company files with the SEC from time to time, in connection with considering any forward-looking statements that may be made by the Company and its businesses generally. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events unless the Company is required to do so by law.
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