S&P lowers Berlian Laju view to negative

Standard & Poor's said it revised the outlook on PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk. to negative from stable.

The agency also said it affirmed its B- long-term corporate credit rating, along with the CCC rating on its $400 million senior unsecured notes due 2014 issued by BLT Finance BV, a wholly owned subsidiary.

The outlook revision was due to concerns about the company's increasing refinancing risks for short-term debt maturities, S&P said.

This pressure is occurring at a time when bunker prices are keeping operating costs high, offsetting the improvement in freight rates for chemical tankers through most of this year, the agency said.

S&P did acknowledge that the company's liquidity has benefited from several refinancing activities earlier this year.

But the agency said the company's high leverage is unlikely to improve in the next few quarters.

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