Metalloinvest, a leading global iron ore and hot briquetted iron (HBI) producer based in Russia, has announced that global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has revised the company’s outlook to stable from positive, while upgrading the company’s ‘BB+’ long-term corporate credit rating to BBB-.
According to a statement published by S&P, the upgrade of Metalloinvest’s rating reflects the company’s commitment to a conservative financial policy and its strong credit metrics, supported by continuous efforts in debt reduction and competitive cost positioning.
The stable outlook reflects S&P’s expectation that Metalloinvest will maintain strong credit metrics in 2021-22, despite the anticipated reduction in iron ore prices and increasing mining taxes in Russia. S&P believes the company will generate positive free cash flow and will maintain flexibility over capex to avoid a material increase in debt. S&P expects that the company will post record high EBITDA in 2021 on the back of exceptional industry conditions.