S&P: Norilsk Nickel on watch

Standard & Poor's said it placed the BBB- long-term corporate credit and ruAA+ Russia national scale ratings on OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel on CreditWatch with negative implications.

The CreditWatch placement reflects concerns about possible weaknesses in Norilsk's governance and management, which is indicated by the lack of disclosure, S&P said.

By July 22, Norilsk published only abridged, unaudited financials while almost all rated Russian companies already reported their full, audited 2010 results several months ago, the agency said.

S&P said the company has no covenants on timeliness of financial disclosure. Still, this unusual delay may signal broader governance and financial disclosure issues, possibly on the back of continuing fundamental strategic disagreements between the company's core shareholders, UC Rusal plc and Interros, the agency said.

The key factor limiting the downside for the rating is Norilsk's strong operating performance and robust financial metrics, S&P 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.