Riyadh – Mubasher: Moody's Investors Service, (Moody's) on Wednesday confirmed the A1 ratings on Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and assigned a stable outlook.
The ratings agency also downgraded to A2 from A1 the ratings of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and assigned a stable outlook for each of them.
“SABIC's A1 rating continues to reflect its strong global position in the petrochemical and fertiliser markets that it has built up over the past three decades, as well as its competitive cost position, underpinned by significant economies of scale and access to competitively priced feedstock under long-term contracts with Saudi Aramco,” Moody’s said in a statement.
It added that these advantages mitigate the volatility of [SABIC’s] predominantly commodity-based businesses, and notable fluctuations in supply and demand that affect its markets through industry and economic cycles.
The investors service noted that although ethane feedstock prices in the Kingdom have more than doubled, SABIC remains at the lower end of the cost curve and its financial profile remains strong.
