Fitch upgrades JBS

Fitch Ratings said it upgraded JBS SA's long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings and senior unsecured notes issued by JBS Investments GmbH and JBS Investments II GmbH to BB from BB-.

The national scale rating also was upgraded to AA+ (bra) from A(bra).

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade reflects the company's expected de-leveraging and strong free cash flow generation and improved financial flexibility due to recent liability management, Fitch said.

JBS's business profile is strong due to its size, geographic and protein diversification in pork, poultry and beef, the agency said.

The company is the most geographically diversified company in the protein sector due to its strong presence in North America, South America, Australia and Canada, Fitch said.

This geographic diversity enables the group to mitigate business volatility inherent to the industry, the agency said.

The ratings are constrained by weak corporate governance due its shareholder's structure and uncertainty as several investigations involving JBS continue to move forward, Fitch said.

© 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.