S&P confirmed the “A-” rating of the debt of EDF – Boursier.com

(Boursier.com) — The agency Standard & Poor’s has not changed the investment grade credit rating ofEDF, despite of the objectives of 2017 enough below what the market was projecting so far. The agency relied on a level of EBITDA of 15 to 15.5 MdsE next year, so that the energy company has conceded that he would not be the range at 13.7 to 14.3 MdsE. Even if we consider that this is a negative development for the group, we believe that it is manageable compared to the current rating, writes S&P, who note the long-term debt “A-” with a “stable” outlook. The analyst in charge of the case considers that the lag is not due to poor operational performance of the company, but the judgments of plants th at are not programmed, in the framework of the programme of audit undertaken by the ASN. The first results of the inspections are positive and some of the reactors are already income producing, says the agency.

For S&P, the most crucial element for EDF is to achieve to reduce its adjusted debt to under three years. To do this, the group will rely on the disposals, and the capital increase of 4 MdsE, the dividend in shares, the plan of reduction of costs and improvement of the working capital fund.

Anthony Bondain — ©2016, Fellow.com