Sprint gets credit line

Fiber Optics Weekly Update, August 2, 2002

Sprint announced it has obtained commitments for a new $1.5 billion revolving bank credit facility. The facility is unsecured, with no springing liens, and is structured as a 364-day credit line with a subsequent one-year term-out option. Co-lead banks are Citibank and JPMorgan Chase. The new facility is in the final documentation stages and is expected to close soon.

This new facility will replace an existing $2 billion facility that would have expired in August 2003. Sprint has no plans to draw against the new facility. Sprint has reduced its outstanding commercial paper from peak levels of nearly $4 billion earlier this year to zero today. In addition, Sprint expects continued improvements in operating cash flows and has multiple sources of liquidity. As a result, the company believes the new facility provides ample capacity.

Sprint continues to expect to be free cash flow break-even for the full-year 2002. Even assuming a continuing slow-growth economy, Sprint believes it has sufficient flexibility to manage costs and capital expenditures to produce total free cash flow in 2003 of more than $1 billion. This free cash flow is expected to be used to retire maturing debt obligations that total $1.4 billion in 2003. In 2004, Sprint expects free cash flow to significantly exceed its maturing debt obligations of $1.2 billion. Thus, Sprint anticipates significantly declining debt balances in future years with minimal, if any, external financing required.