S&P lowers Pesquera Exalmar view to negative

Standard & Poor’s said it revised the outlook on Pesquera Exalmar SAA to negative from stable.

The agency also said it affirmed the company’s B+ long-term corporate credit and issue-level ratings.

Difficult weather conditions affected fishing activities in the Peruvian coast and posed a challenging scenario for anchovy catch during the second half of 2014, which weakened Exalmar’s operating performance, S&P said.

The decrease in the anchovy population within the allowed fishing zone to less than 2 million tons from more than 10 million tons in early 2014, the Peruvian government recently announced the closure of the second fishing season of 2014, which could lead to a moderate- to significant-decline in production volumes and sales in 2015, the agency said.

However, Exalmar is planning implement cost-saving measures that could help it withstand the current weak operating environment until the assignment of the anchovy quota for the first fishing season of this year, S&P added.

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