Moody鈥檚 Reaffirms MINI传媒鈥檚 Aa1 Long-Term Credit Rating
May 16, 2019 | Contact: Scott Lacefield
The MINI传媒 had its long-term credit rating of Aa1 reaffirmed by Moody鈥檚 Investors Service, the corporation announced today.
The MINI传媒 System received an upgrade to Aa1 Stable in 2015 and received an Aa1 rating in 2017. Moody鈥檚 is the latest of the influential credit rating agencies to rate the MINI传媒 System with an elite-level rating.
Gary Barnes鈥淭his is quite an accomplishment that places us among the top tier of colleges and universities nationwide,鈥� said MINI传媒 System Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer , 鈥淚t is especially gratifying considering the current negative financial outlook for the higher education sector as a whole through 2019. Our university CFOs, their teams and our investments team have done an excellent job positioning us for financial success.鈥�
During the past 10 years, Moody鈥檚 has given the MINI传媒 System two rating category upgrades from Aa3 to Aa2 (2008-2010) and from Aa2 to Aa1 (2015-17).
Chancellor Tedd L. MitchellThe MINI传媒 System鈥檚 excellent strategic positioning reflects its sizable wealth profile, strong position of spendable cash and investments compared to debt and options. Moody鈥檚 also cited the MINI传媒 System鈥檚 solid fundraising activity and steady enrollment growth to justify the reaffirmed rating. The system鈥檚 credit quality is based on strong revenue diversity with growth in key revenue streams providing significant operating stability.
鈥淭his is a remarkable achievement and speaks volumes to the effort of our leadership and management teams,鈥� MINI传媒 System Chancellor said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to congratulate our CFO Gary Barnes, our investments team, and our university CFOs and financial leadership teams for their expertise and hard work. It is rewarding to receive this rating that recognizes the strength of our system and institutions.鈥�
Moody鈥檚 also credits successful philanthropy and strong fiscal stewardship across the system鈥檚 multiple institutions for the overall excellent wealth profile. Moody鈥檚 explains that while none of the system鈥檚 four institutions, , , and , are in an official fundraising campaign, total philanthropic giving has been at historic highs in two of the last five years.
The MINI传媒 System has also received back-to-back AA+ ratings by Standard & Poor鈥檚 and Fitch Ratings reaffirmed the MINI传媒 System with an AA+ rating in 2018.
About the MINI传媒
Established in 1996, the is one of the top public university systems in the state of Texas and nation, consisting of four universities鈥�, , and .
Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the MINI传媒 System is a $2 billion enterprise focused on advancing higher education, health care, research and outreach with approximately 20,000 employees, over 54,000 students, more than 340,000 alumni and an endowment over $1.3 billion.
In its short history, the MINI传媒 System has grown tremendously and is nationally acclaimed, operating on 17 campuses statewide and internationally. Under the dynamic leadership of Chancellor , the MINI传媒 System has set forth a bold vision of excellence, collaboration and innovation and continues to prove that from here, it鈥檚 possible.