Fitch affirms Coca-Cola Icecek

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Coca-Cola Icecek AS' local-currency senior unsecured and issuer default ratings at BBB and its foreign-currency issuer default rating, which is constrained by Turkey's country ceiling, at BB.

The outlook for the local-currency issuer default rating is stable and the outlook on the foreign-currency issuer default rating is positive.

The agency said the ratings are supported by Coca-Cola Icecek's leadership in the growing Turkish alcohol-free beverage market, its superior product portfolio, the quality of its management, its effective distribution system, its currently moderate leverage and the broadened scope of operations following the November 2005 acquisition of Efes Invest.

The BBB local-currency rating is constrained by the company's still limited geographic diversification, its relatively small size compared with other major Coca-Cola bottlers, the focus of its operations in countries that can be vulnerable to economic instability and the mismatch between the hard-currency denomination of Coca-Cola Icecek's raw material prices and financial debt and the lira denomination of its cash flow, Fitch said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.