International credit rating agency Moody’s has announced that it has upgraded the corporate credit rating of the Ukrainian mining and steel producing group Metinvest to Caa1 from Caa2 and it has also upgraded the outlook of the company to positive from stable, following the upgrade of Ukraine's government bond ratings with a positive outlook.
Moody’s stated that the business profile and financial metrics of Metinvest are strong for a Caa1 rating. However, the company is directly exposed to Ukraine's political, legal, fiscal and regulatory environment, despite significant share of export revenues, given that most or all of its assets are located within the country.
Meanwhile, the positive outlook on the ratings of Metinvest is in line with the positive outlook on Ukraine's sovereign rating, and reflects the fact that the company’s ratings could be upgraded if Moody's were to upgrade the sovereign rating and raise Ukraine's foreign-currency bond country ceiling. The positive outlook also reflects Moody's’ expectation that Metinvest will sustain strong operating and financial performance for its current rating level despite high event risks, and maintain adequate liquidity.