Credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded the outlook of Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) from positive to stable.
The credit rating agency said the downgrade reflects a negative environment for “transformational transactions that would materially lower gross debt.”
Fitch said it has also affirmed the company’s foreign ratings at “B,” and national scale ratings at “BBB-(bra).”
The credit rating agency said the ratings consider CSN’s “solid iron ore business” as well as its strong flat steel market position, given the company’s competitiveness in both segments.
On the other hand, CSN also has high “absolute and net debt levels.”
Fitch also assumed CSN would successfully rollover the remainder of its short-term debt with Brazilian banks, as it did recently with state-run Banco do Brasil (BB), as reported by SteelOrbis.