Maxima Grupe’s BB+ credit rating affirmed

The international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s reviewed Maxima Grupe’s operations and financial performance and affirmed that for a second year the owner of retail companies in the Baltic States, Poland and Bulgaria retains its solid BB+ credit rating with a stable outlook. Maxima Grupė remains one of the few retailers in the Eastern and Central European region to have obtained and made public an international credit rating.

The global rating agency cited Maxima Grupe's leading market position as a reason for affirming the rating; this was achieved through competitive price positioning, good store-format diversity, and prudent financial policy.

“We are delighted with Standard & Poor’s assessment, which proves Maxima Grupė’s strong position in the Baltic States and successful integration of the acquired Polish chain Stokrotka. Retaining solid BB+ credit rating for a second year confirms the reliability of the company and its sustainable financial position,” notes Vitalij Rakovski, the CFO of Maxima Grupė.

“Our customer is the focus of our long-term strategy. This approach drives our operational excellence, efficiency gains, expansion of our store network and assortment, and aspiration to offer the best prices in the market. We are proud to see the appreciation of our customer, as they voted Maxima Latvija the Best Buy retailer brand in Latvia, and we are delighted that S&P has affirmed our BB+ credit rating for the second consecutive year,” says Andris Vilcmeiers, CEO and Board Chairman of Maxima Latvija.

The BB+ credit rating was assigned to Maxima Grupė on 17 July 2018. The assessment opened up new opportunities for the company in the international capital markets – in 2018 it successfully placed a 300-million-euro issue of 5-year bonds. The demand for the company’s bonds exceeded the supply, which made the bonds being acquired by more than 60 investors from 14 countries.

This year Maxima was also named No. 1 retailer and No. 2 company across industries in the Favourite Brand Ranking. In addition, Maxima was recognised as the leader in Best Buy category in Latvia.

Additional information

Maxima Grupė owns the retail chains Maxima (in the Baltic countries), Stokrotka (in Poland), and T-Market (in Bulgaria), as well as e-grocer Barbora which operates in the Baltics.

Maxima Grupė revenue increased by 23,9% versus the same period last year and reached EUR 1.9 billion in the first half of 2019. Consolidated EBITDA reached EUR 142 million. The Group invested more than EUR 49 million into fixed assets.

Maxima Grupė is part of the Vilniaus Prekyba group, one of the largest retail companies in the Baltic region and the region of Central and Eastern Europe.