Fitch trims AstraZeneca

Fitch said it downgraded AstraZeneca plc’s long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating to BBB+ from A-.

The outlook is stable.

“The downgrade reflects AZN's decline in sales and operating profitability in the last three years. Combined with an aggressive dividend policy and high capex related to the new pipeline, this has resulted in consistent negative free cash flow (FCF) generation and a gradual increase in leverage,” Fitch said in a news release.

“We estimate a rise in funds from operations (FFO) lease-adjusted leverage to around 4.0x by end-2018 from 3.5x by end-2017, above the maximum level of 3.5x consistent with an A- IDR.”

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