Fitch raises ratings for 2 top Japan steel makers.TOKYO, Dec. 20 Kyodo 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. said Tuesday it has upgraded its ratings on Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc., Japan's No. 1 and No. 2 steel manufacturers, respectively, because of their improved financial standings and strong business performances. Nippon Steel's rating on its senior unsecured debt denominated in yen and foreign currencies was raised to BBB BBB A medium grade assigned to a debt obligation by a rating agency to indicate an adequate ability to pay interest and repay principal. However, adverse developments are more likely to impair this ability than would be the case for bonds rated A and above. plus from BBB and that for JFE JFE Journal of Financial Economics JFE Joint Force Employment JFE joint fires element (US DoD) JFE Justification for Expenditure to BBB from BB plus. The Nippon Steel rating on short-term debt was upgraded to F2 from F3 and that for JFE to F3 from B. The outlook is stable for both companies, Fitch said. The two companies' close business ties with customers including car and home electronics makers and shipbuilders better position them to weather the intensifying competition in the marketplace, the rating agency said. The two also are managing to make up for the rising costs of raw materials and other items by either passing them on to customers or restructuring, according to Fitch. While it commended the two companies' innovation efforts to meet major customers' needs for customized, upscale products, the latest Fitch report also pointed to their high debt loads as compared with other companies rated BBB. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion