Fitch lowers ThaiBev to BBB-/AA(tha)

Fitch Ratings (Thailand) said it downgraded Thai Beverage PCL’s (ThaiBev) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to BBB- from BBB and national long-term rating to AA(tha) from AA+(tha).

The ratings were removed from rating watch negative and the outlook is stable.

Fitch said it downgraded the ratings following the debt-funded acquisition of Vietnam's Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corp (Sabeco) on Dec. 27.

The agency expects ThaiBev's leverage, defined as FFO adjusted net leverage, to increase to 5.7 times by the end of the fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2018 (FYE18), from 1.2 times at FYE17.

However, leverage should decline to around 4 times by FYE20, which will be in line with its BBB- rating, Fitch added.

© 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.