15th Mar 2019 14:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it has assigned a Ba1 corporate family rating to Evraz PLC with a stable outlook.
Moody's said the rating reflects its expectation that the FTSE 100-listed steelmaker will continue to reduce its debt and generate sustainable positive post-dividend free cash flow. The ratings agency also noted that Evraz has low cash costs of coking coal and iron ore production and good product, operational and geographical diversification.
The ratings agency said that Evraz recently saw the sluggish demand for steel in the Russian construction sector, which is the major consumer of Evraz's steel products. Moody's said it expect this demand to improve over the next 12 to 18 months, supported by state initiatives to develop infrastructure and boost residential construction.
Moody's said that when assigning ratings to Evraz, it took into account the overall negative effect of the 25% steel import tariff, imposed by the US in March last year and Canada in October 2018.
Meanwhile, the stable outlook reflects Evraz's solid positioning in the current rating category, despite volatility in steel, coking coal and vanadium prices and generous dividend payouts.
Looking ahead, Moody's said the steelmaker's ratings could be upgraded if it continues to pursue conservative liquidity management and maintains healthy liquidity.
A downgrade is also possible, Moody's noted, if the company's post-dividend free cash flow turns negative on a sustained basis.
Evraz shares were trading marginally lower on Friday at 620.80 pence each.
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