S&P rates Independencia bond B

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed the B long-term corporate credit rating on Independencia SA and B rating on its $225 million long-term international bonds due 2017.

The agency also assigned a B rating to Independencia International Ltd.'s $250 million seven-year senior unsecured bond.

The outlook is positive.

Ratings reflect the opinion that company's consistently higher-than-market average operational efficiency would allow it to maintain adequate credit metrics despite higher total debt in the current and next fiscal year, the agency said.

Ratings remain constrained by the company's exposure to the volatile and highly competitive global fresh-meat industry, its dependence on a commoditized product portfolio, highly leveraged financial risk profile and comparatively weaker cash flow protection measures due to the acquisition of Goiás Carne, S&P noted.

The issuer reported a total debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 4.9 times at year-end 2007, compared with 4.7 times in December 2006.

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