S&P lifts Freeport McMoRan view to stable

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the BBB- corporate credit rating on Freeport McMoRan Inc.

The agency also said it revised the outlook from stable to negative.

The outlook revision reflects an expectation that adjusted debt-to-EBITDA will be more than 4.5x at the end of 2015, S&P said.

This is driven in large part by falling commodity prices, particularly copper, the agency said.

The company plans to execute a broad range of initiatives, including cutting capital spending, increasing copper production and rationalizing less profitable operations to return adjusted debt leverage down into the 3x to 4x range, which is more typical of the current significant financial risk assessment, S&P said.

Freeport has a comprehensive plan to decrease leverage and conserve liquidity, which could substantially strengthen credit measures, the agency said.

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