Moody’s downgrades Kemira on weak credit profile

16 June 2008 07:42  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Moody’s has downgraded the short-term senior unsecured issuer ratings of Finnish chemicals and coating manufacturer Kemira to "not prime" with a stable outlook due to its weak credit profile, the international credit rating agency said.

"The company is challenged to improve its margins affected by increases in energy and raw material prices. Moody’s does not expect a prompt turnaround in the profitability and debt metrics in the current operating environment", said Stuart London, managing director at Moody’s in a statement late on Friday.

Despite Kemira’s recent announcement to reorganise its titanium dioxide (TiO2) operations in a joint venture with Rockwood Holdings, the transaction was not expected to enable the company to materially reduce leverage, it added.

The company’s management team had initiated a strategic review of operations to improve profitability and derive additional value from existing customer relationships, Moody’s said.

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By: Bohan Loh
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