Fitch: U.S. Chemical Producers Battle for Margin Expansion in 2006.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. expects U.S. commodity producers will realize strong margin expansion during the final quarter of 2005 and continue through the first half of 2006, as discussed in Fitch's 2006 industry outlook. The duration of peak-like margins will depend on economic growth and volatility in raw material prices, which, though currently higher, Fitch believes will moderate by year-end 2006. Supply disruptions and planned maintenance turnarounds will lead to tightened supply/demand balances. Fitch also predicts that volume growth will remain healthy, albeit slower, in 2006 due to rising interest rates and inflationary pressures. Fitch anticipates refinancing Refinancing An extension and/or increase in amount of existing debt. activity could be somewhat higher in 2006 as certain producers repay upcoming maturities and others look to refinance Refinance 1. When a business or person revises their payment schedule for repaying debt. 2. Replacing an older loan with a new loan offering better terms. Notes: When a business refinances they typically extend the maturity date. existing bank debt. Credit metrics, which reached mid-cycle levels for most producers in 2005, will likely be stronger for each of their respective ratings categories as the chemical industry approaches its peak in 2006. Fitch will host a teleconference at 11:00 a.m. EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy today, Dec. 12 to further discuss its outlook for the U.S. chemical industry. Interested parties in the U.S. and Canada should call +1-877-241-2557, and participants outside North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. should call +1-706-643-7396. Participants should give the title of the call as 'Fitch Ratings Chemicals Industry Outlook' or the conference ID Number 3043564. The full outlook report 'Chemical Producers Battle for Margin Expansion in 2006' is available at www.fitchratings.com. A full list of chemical issuers and respective Fitch ratings can be found in the report. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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