S&P rates Anadolu Efes BB

Standard & Poor's said it assigned a BB long-term corporate credit rating to Turkish-based Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayii AS. The outlook is stable.

The agency said the rating reflects Anadolu Efes's business exposure to volatile markets and currencies, as well as the group's lack of track record in sustaining a high dividend flow from its Russian operations. The group's operations in Russia are currently facing a significant integration task and toughening market conditions. The ratings are also constrained by the cash leakage caused by the part-ownership of its main subsidiaries.

These factors are mitigated, S&P said, by the group's dominant position in the established, although slow-growing, Turkish beer market, which underpins its strong and resilient free cash flow generation. The ratings are further supported by the group's increasing diversification through its growing international beer operations and its majority ownership of a large Coke bottler.

S&P predicted that net debt to EBITDA will remain less than 2x.

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