Moody's assigns Metalloinvest Ba3 rating with stable outlook

Moody's Investors Service today assigned Metalloinvest a Ba3 corporate family rating ("CFR"), a Ba3 Probability of Default Rating and Aa3.ru national scale rating. According to the agency, the rating reflects Metalloinvest's proven iron ore production capacity, its long-life reserve base and its good historic profitability. Metalloinvest also benefits from its integrated steel business model with a large share of niche and value-added products. Another factor is the company’s ability to generate free cash-flow.

The stable outlook indicates Moody's expectations that the 2010 performance should support the current rating and demonstrate positive trends in financial metrics, especially reduction in leverage and improved cash flow generation.

«We are glad that today Moody’s rating agency assigned Metalloinvest a favorable credit rating — it reflects our strong positions in the iron ore market and the benefits of our integrated business model. We are a major and reliable borrower, we work with leading foreign banks, so this rating is quite important for us,» said General Director of Metalloinvest Management Company Eduard Potapov.