Bond Refunding Saves St. Louis Lambert International Airport $29 Million

(St. Louis—June 27, 2019) Comptroller Darlene Green announced today that the City of St. Louis saved more than $29 million by refinancing St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)’s Series 2009A-1 Airport Revenue bonds.

“With favorable market conditions, the City of St. Louis was able to deliver a $29.26 million present value savings for St. Louis Lambert International Airport,” said Comptroller Green. “This is a victory for the people of St. Louis and the flying public, as these savings enhance the operating efficiency and financial strength of our airport.”

The financing was well received by the market with robust investor interest. Investors’ orders amounted to 3.4 times the amount of offered bonds, or more than $317 million. This interest was in part due to rating upgrades since 2018, reflecting the strength of the airport’s credit quality and sound operations.

“This bond refunding continues to further enhance our financial sustainability with the net present savings that not only reduces future debt payments, but also happens to cover the cost of a new bond issuance that will cover new investments into airport facilities and equipment,” said STL Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.

As part of the transaction, the City of St. Louis issued approximately $23 million of new airport revenue bonds which will fund a variety of projects in the airport’s five-year capital improvement plan.

The majority of the financing’s savings were structured within the first five years to help manage the airport’s future debt service and maintain the airport’s competitive cost per enplanement and operations. The entire financing resulted in an aggregate all-in true interest cost of 2.87 percent.

Prior to selling the bonds, S&P Global Ratings assigned its ‘A’ rating to the city’s Series 2019 airport revenue and refunding bonds issued in 2009 and upgraded its rating on outstanding airport revenue bonds to ‘A’ from ‘A-’. The outlook for all city airport bond ratings by S&P is stable. In addition, Moody’s Investor Services affirmed its rating for the city’s airport bonds at ‘A2’ with a stable outlook.

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Comptroller Darlene Green is the chief fiscal officer of the City of St. Louis and is charged with safeguarding the city’s credit rating and with protecting taxpayer dollars. Visit www.stlouis-mo.gov/comptroller to learn more about the Office of the Comptroller.