S&P Global Ratings raised CommonSpirit Health's debt rating to "A-" from "BBB+" and expects the health system to continue to see its finances improve.
"The rating action reflects successful execution of several aspects of CommonSpirit's initial strategies in stemming losses and setting the system up for stability as well as a significantly strengthened balance sheet that provides the organization some cushion for operations that we expect to be at near break-even levels in fiscal 2022," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Suzie Desai in a Nov. 12 release.
Chicago-based CommonSpirit, which was formed in 2019 through the merger of San Francisco-based Dignity Health and Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, has a stable outlook with S&P.
The outlook reflects the credit rating agency's expectation that CommonSpirit will continue to execute on financial improvement plans and maintain performance with support from investment income.
CommonSpirit saw revenues rise 12.4 percent year over year in the fiscal year ended June 30. The system ended fiscal year 2021 with operating income of $998 million, compared to an operating loss of $550 million a year earlier.