Credit rating agency Fitch have confirmed the B+ rating for Inter Milan’s bond.
This according to Italian football finance news outlet Calcio e Finanza.
Inter’s debt issues in recent years have not been any secret.
And the club have a bond which is currently at €415 million.
And global credit rating agency have graded that bond at B.
There had been a risk of that rating being lowered. The reason for this was the situation with last season’s main shirt sponsor DigitalBits.
The cryptocurrency company’s nonpayment of amounts that they owed in the partnership meant that the deal proved to be nothing less than a disaster for Inter on a financial level.
However, there have been some reasons to be more positive in the intervening period.
Fitch Confirm Rating Of Inter Bond At B+
Fitch note that Inter’s performances on the pitch last season helped with their commercial revenues off of it.
The reason for this is that the Nerazzurri reaching the Champions League enabled the club to agree a short-term main shirt sponsorship deal with US-based streaming service Paramount+ at the tail end of last season.
Inter then extended that partnership for this season.
That deal is a short-term one, as is the deal with sleeve sponsor eBay.
But, Fitch notes, there is a positive history of Inter successfully generating commercial revenues. The precedent is generally positive in terms of agreeing partnerships with significant revenues and exposures, and of being able to renew them, in spite of the DigitalBits debacle.
Therefore, Fitch does not see there as risks in terms of cash flow being insufficient heading into the 2027 refinancing period of the club’s debt bond.
Then there is the matter of Inter’s new stadium project.
There is still a fair bit of uncertainty about exactly when and under what conditions the Nerazzurri will construct a new stadium.
However, if and when they do, it should be a significant boost to revenues.
Therefore, a new stadium could be a key factor in potentially upgrading Inter’s rating.
