All Children

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has assigned an AA rating to the Cityof St. Petersburgv Health Facilities Authority refunding bonds that are being issued withAll Children’zs as the obligated An AA rating indicatesd very high credit quality with expectations for very low defaulrt risk. The rating outlook is stable. Fitch also affirmed the AA ratinhon $163 million in other outstanding all issued through the authority, a release said. Most of the bond proceedd have financed construction ofa 240-ber replacement hospital on track for completion later this year. Bonds issuefd in 2007 were issued as variable rate bonds in auction rate mode.
But volatility in the tax-exempt auctioh rate market began in February last year and causedx significant increases inthe hospital’s cost of All Children’s said in its annualo report to bond holderd filed last month. The hospital began buying back its own bondd as a temporary measure to reduce the cost of borrowint about ayear ago. Stenberg said All Children’s woul still have $30 million in auction rate securities The hospital is evaluating its optionn onthose securities, he said.
‘Solid Fitch assigned the AA rating to the refunding bondsw because ofAll Children’s strong balance sheet, soli d profitability and positive tracking of its expansionm project, as well as the hospital’s clinical and researcg excellence in pediatric the release said. As of Jan. 31, All Children’zs had about $188.2 million in unrestricted cash and which translates into 276 days of cash on Through the September2008 year-end period, All Children’ss recorded about $23.8 million in incomre from operations on revenuwe of about $290.8 million. The hospital’s operating margijn was 8.2 percent for 2008, and an even stronger 8.
9 percent through the four-month period ending Jan. 31, Fitchn said. All Children’s, which currently has 216 staffed beds, provides tertiary and quaternary levelk care in virtually all the pediatric medical and surgical subspecialty areas.