Fitch affirms Airports Co. South Africa program

Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed Airports Co. South Africa Ltd.'s national long-term and ZAR 12 billion domestic medium-term note program ratings at AA-(zaf).

The agency said it also affirmed the national short-term rating at F1+(zaf).

The outlook for the national long-term rating is stable.

As expected, rising debt-funded capital expenditure of ZAR 5.99 billion in FY09 and a 7.7% year-over-year decline in passenger numbers on the back of the continuing economic downturn in South Africa adversely impacted the company's adjusted financial leverage during FY09, the agency said.

The stable outlook reflects Fitch's expectations that Airports Co. South Africa's financial performance should recover in FY12, when the regulatory determination should enable the company to revert to a financial profile with improved credit metrics.

Fitch added that adjusted leverage, in particular, is expected to improve to below 4.5x in FY12, compared with 6.3x at FYE09.

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