Fitch Affirms Int'l Ratings of YPF at 'BB' Following Repsol Reserves Restatement.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. has affirmed the senior unsecured local and foreign currency ratings of YPF YPF Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (Argentina) YPF Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada (Airport Code) YPF Young Peoples Fellowship S.A. (YPF) at 'BB' and the Argentina national scale rating at 'AAA(arg)' following Fitch's decision to place Repsol YPF's (Repsol; senior unsecured rated 'BBB+' by Fitch) ratings on Rating Watch Negative (RWN RWN Right Wing News (weblog) RWN Rural Women's Network (Australia) RWN Arens Field Airport (Winamac, Indiana, USA) RWN Reconfigurable Wireless Network ) following today's announcement by the company of a 25% reserves reduction. The YPF ratings also maintain their Stable Rating Outlook. The RWN for Repsol reflects expected downward revision in proved reserves proved reserves The quantity of minerals expected to be recoverable under current economic and operating conditions. The amount of proved reserves is important in valuing the stock of a company with significant holdings in natural resources. by 1,254 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) and is mainly related to Bolivia (52%) and Argentina (41%), with smaller amounts in Venezuela and elsewhere. The revision is to the result of a combination of factors, including changes to legal frameworks (notably the hydrocarbon law in Bolivia and a new joint venture structure in Venezuela) and their impact on investment decisions and field performance. While negative, the restatement Restatement A revision in a company's earlier financial statements. Notes: The need for restating financial figures can result from fraud, misrepresentation, or a simple clerical error. of proved reserves should not have a material effect on YPF's credit profile or rating as YPF's primary rating constraint reflects Argentine sovereign concerns, rather than reserve or production levels. The assigned ratings of YPF incorporate the benefits of YPF's ownership structure, solid operating performance and credit protection measures, and proven hard currency-generating ability. Absent sovereign concerns, the company's credit indicators suggest rating levels higher than those assigned. Credit indicators through September 2005 are again at record levels with EBITDA-to-interest of 27 times (x) and debt-to-EBITDA of 0.1x. Strong credit fundamentals, coupled with the company's cash flow and export capabilities, mitigate exposure to transfer and convertibility risk, allowing YPF to be rated multiple notches above the Argentine country ceiling of 'B'. YPF S.A. is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons as well as the refining, marketing, transportation and distribution of oil and a wide range of petroleum products, oil derivatives, petrochemicals and liquid petroleum gas. The company is a subsidiary of Spain's Repsol YPF Repsol YPF, S.A., (IBEX-35:REP) is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries, the bulk of its assets are located in Spain and Argentina. The product of a 1999 takeover of Argentine energy firm YPF by the Spanish conglomerate Repsol S.A. . 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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