Privatisation may affect Petkim's ratings - Fitch
05 April 2007 16:21 [Source: ICIS news]
LONDON (ICIS news)--Fitch on Thursday said ratings for Turkish petrochemicals firm Petkim may change as a result of its planned privatisation this summer.
The Turkish Privatisation Administration announced on 8 February it was looking for bidders for 51% of the company's shares through a block sale.
Fitch has assigned Petkim an issuer default rating of BB in both local and foreign currencies, implying the company was prone to changes in the economy.
“This (a change in rating) will depend on the credit profile of the successful bidder and new majority owner as well as structural ownership details,” said Fitch in a statement.
Petkim is
“Compared to international peers, the company, however, has limited scale and integration scope and suffers earnings volatility, leading to below-average operating margins,” it added.
The pre-qualification deadline for bid applications has been set for 14 May 2007 with final bids due on 15 June.
The Turkish government sold 35% of Petkim’s shares in April 2005 for $270m (€203m) via a public offering on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
In 1999 Petkim’s Yarimca complex suffered damage to its dock and cooling tower from an earthquake. The company sold the complex to oil firm Tupras in 2001 and no longer operates any facilities at the site.
Petkim employs around 4000 people, and makes a range of polyolefins, aromatics, chloralkali, purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and phthalic anhydride (PA) at its plants in Aliaga and Yarimka. It reported a net income of TL58m in 2006.
($1 = €0.75 = TL1.36)
By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214
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