Uxin shares drop 45% as predicted by InvestingPro’s Fair Value model
Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:MMLP) to negative while affirming its ’B’ issuer credit rating.
The rating agency cited weaker-than-expected third quarter 2025 results that led the partnership to withdraw its 2025 guidance amid demand softness that decreased inland barge utilization.
The partnership’s marine transportation business performed well below expectations as demand for barge utilization declined significantly. This was primarily due to dramatically reduced heavy crude imports from Venezuela, which lessened the need for barges. However, S&P expects the marine transportation business to improve in the fourth quarter of 2025 and into 2026.
A key concern highlighted by S&P is the limited covenant headroom on the partnership’s revolving credit facility. In September 2025, MMLP amended its covenants to include a maximum total leverage ratio of 4.75x and a minimum interest coverage covenant of 1.75x. As of September 30, 2025, the actual levels were 4.63x and 1.85x respectively, leaving little room for further performance deterioration.
The partnership’s debt structure includes 11.5% senior secured notes maturing in February 2028 and a $130 million revolving credit facility maturing in November 2027, of which $53 million was outstanding at the end of September.
S&P expects MMLP to maintain leverage of about 4.1x in 2025, improving to approximately 3.7x in 2026. The agency also anticipates the partnership will extend or refinance its debt in a timely manner.
A negative rating action could occur if the partnership’s liquidity weakens further due to operational underperformance, if it fails to refinance its senior secured notes by mid-2026, if leverage is sustained above 5x, or if the partnership breaks a financial covenant.
The outlook could return to stable if operational performance improves, creating more headroom under financial covenants, and if the partnership extends the weighted average maturity of its outstanding debt.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.