Fitch downgrades VEON

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded VEON Ltd.'s long-term issuer default rating to B+ from BBB- and senior unsecured rating to B+/RR4 from BBB-.

“The downgrade reflects the significant deterioration of the Russian and Ukrainian operating environments accompanied by downgrades of the country ceilings of Russia and Ukraine to B and B-, respectively. With limited access to cash in these countries, the group's credit profile is primarily shaped by operations in other markets. Russia and Ukraine generated 62% of the company-reported 2021 EBITDA. Analytical deconsolidation of operations in Russia and Ukraine leads to a significant increase in leverage to around 4.6x net debt/EBITDA,” Fitch said in a press release.

The agency noted that currency controls in Russia limits VEON’s access to cash earned by its Russian operations and access to cash flows in Ukraine is “problematic.”

The outlook is stable.

© 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.