International credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) has announced that it has revised its outlook on Russian steel producer
Severstal to stable from positive and affirmed its 'BB+' foreign and local currency ratings.
According to S&P, the outlook revision takes into account the heightened risk that
Severstal, whose assets are
Russia-based and which generates over 50 percent of its revenues in the Russian market, might be susceptible to the Russian economic slowdown over the medium term.
Meanwhile, the affirmation of the credit rating reflects the agency's view that
Severstal's business risk profile will remain supported by its diversification into export markets, its high share of value-added products, and its strong margins.
Severstal's adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to increase to a record high of about 22-24 percent in 2014-2015, from 15.4 percent in 2013, supported by implemented cost efficiencies, and by a more than 70 percent decline in the value of the ruble in 2014.