Fitch revises Ascential to positive

Fitch Ratings said it revised the outlook on Ascential plc's long-term issuer default rating to positive from stable and affirmed the issuer default rating at BB-.

Fitch said the actions follow its periodic review of Ascential, including an update to the central rating case forecasts following publication of the company's FY15 results; which confirmed solid underlying performance, strong cash flow and organic deleveraging.

Ignoring the effects of February's IPO, the business delivered 0.4 times of organic deleveraging on a funds from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage basis in 2015.

The agency expects Ascential to reach its upgrade guidance of FFO adjusted net leverage below 2.2 times within the next 12 to 18 months. This expectation is underpinned by reduced interest costs following the IPO and bank refinancing, cash flow visibility and revised management guidance on its net debt/EBITDA target of 2 times.

© 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.