Fitch affirms Vinci

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Vinci SA's issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating at BBB+ and its short-term rating at F2.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the ratings reflect Vinci's modified business and financial profiles, which are now more oriented towards concessions (69% of pro forma EBITDA for the first half of 2006) following the acquisition of Autoroutes du Sud de la France in 2006, and the company's sound non-concession activities. The Autoroutes du Sud acquisition dramatically increased Vinci's lease-adjusted net debt-to-EBITDAR ratio to 5x from 0.9x, but Fitch expects leverage to have decreased by the end of 2006 due to the successful €2.5 billion equity issuance in mid-2006.

The ratings are constrained by possible pressure on Vinci's leverage ratios from the company's "acquisitive mood" to grow its presence in Europe and strengthen the size of its core businesses and from shareholder-friendly initiatives such as larger dividend payments and share buyback program, the agency said.

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