Moody’s lifts Rio Tinto to A3

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the senior unsecured ratings of all rated entities within the Rio Tinto Group – Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto America Inc., Rio Tinto Finance (USA) Ltd., Rio Tinto Finance (USA) plc, Rio Tinto Finance plc and Rio Tinto Ltd. – to A3 from Baa1.

The P-2 short-term rating was affirmed for all subsidiaries with short-term ratings.

The outlook is stable.

"The rating upgrade reflects Moody's view that actions undertaken by Rio Tinto over the course of 2016, including its cost reduction achievements, debt reduction through its liability management program, divestitures of non-core assets, and focus on cash generation, which included a change in its dividend policy, have better positioned Rio Tinto to withstand the increased volatility in the markets in which it participates," Moody's senior vice president Carol Cowan said in a news release.

Given the agency’s view on the changed dynamics in the metal/mining commodity markets, particularly the increased dominance of the Chinese markets and increased trading activity, Moody’s said it expects volatility to be higher than in the past.

© 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.