OREANDA-NEWS. On July 22, 2008 credit-rating, an independent rating agency in Ukraine, upgraded the long-term credit rating of Yenakiyevo Metal Plant from uaBBB to uaA. Outlook is stable. In the course of analysis the agency used financial reports of Yenakiyevo Metal Plant for 2006-2007 as well as internal information provided by the plant, reported the press-centre of SCM.

Factors upholding the level of credit rating: being a part of a vertically integrated metal and mining Metinvest Group; improvement of the plant's KPIs in 2006-2007; increase in production volumes by Yenakiyevo Metal Plant and Metalen (both operating at the same industrial site); low dependence of these companies on external loans (in 2007, their aggregate debt to EBITDA ratio was 1.5).

The factors cutting the level of credit rating: significant share of low value-added products in the production structure which leads to higher dependence on price fluctuations at the world market; risks of corporate governance resulted from an absence of consolidated financial statements and significant number of related party transactions.

"Credit-Rating's independent assessment of Yenakiyevo Metal Plant's borrowing potential is important for our business," stated Aleksandr Podkorytov, Chief Executive Officer of OAO Yenakiyevo Metal Plant.

“The agency isolated key competitive edges of the plant: use of effective converter method in steel production, the lowest energy consumption among domestic steel enterprises, and operation within vertically integrated Metinvest Group. The plant systematically implements the long-term modernization programme. All these factors enable YeMZ to keep high and stable position among Ukrainian steel enterprises in terms of production volumes," he added.

Information:
"uaA" rating means that a borrower having such rating is characterized by high creditworthiness compared to other Ukrainian borrowers and debt instruments.