KOKS Group announces confirmation of its credit rating by S&P at the level ‘B’, outlook ‘Stable’

International rating agency Standard and Poor’s confirmed a ’B’ corporate credit rating for KOKS Group, with outlook ‘Stable’.

The agency noted that KOKS Group’s advantages include vertical integration into coal and iron ore, which it seeks to raise to 100% self-sufficiency over the medium term. The company also has a competitive cost position across its main commodities, which supports margins, and it recorded a healthier financial and operational performance during the 2009 crisis than most peers. Koks' financial risk profile is supported by its well-balanced debt maturity profile, which improved in 2011 following the Eurobond placement, and currently adequate liquidity position.

Koks' financial risk profile is constrained by the agency’s view of the company's large capital-spending plans, connected with construction of its new coal mines Butovskaya and Tikhova, which are to be commissioned in the beginning of 2013 and 2014 respectively.