S&P puts Batelco on negative watch

Standard & Poor's said it placed its BBB- long-term corporate credit rating on Bahrain Telecommunications Co. (Batelco) on CreditWatch with negative implications.

At the same time, the agency placed its BBB- issue rating on Batelco's senior unsecured bond on CreditWatch negative.

S&P said the CreditWatch placement follows Batelco's significant loss of market share and consequent decline in profitability as a result of increasing price competition.

The company's lower earnings are pushing its leverage significantly higher than S&P previously forecast. As a result, the agency said it is reassessing Batelco's bb+ stand-alone credit profile, including the view of its "fair" business risk and "intermediate" financial risk profiles.

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