Sistema PJSFC (SSA)
Sistema PJSFC: Sistema rating raised to ruA by Expert RA
25-Sep-2019 / 13:00 MSK
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Sistema rating raised to ruA by Expert RA
Moscow, 25 September 2019 - Sistema PJSFC ("Sistema" or "the Corporation")
(LSE: SSA, MOEX: AFKS), a publicly traded diversified Russian holding
company, announces that the RAEX (Expert RA) rating agency has raised
Sistema's credit rating from ruA- to ruA. The outlook for the rating is
"stable."
The rating upgrade is the result of consistent deleveraging at the Corporate
Centre against a backdrop of increasing valuations of Sistema's assets.
Expert RA also noted that the rating was positively impacted by the low
level of foreign currency exposure following the redemption of the
Corporation's Eurobond in May 2019, by the lack of concentrated borrowing
from a single lender, and by Sistema's strong track record on corporate
governance and financial disclosure.
Vladimir Travkov, Sistema Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said:
"The upgrade of our rating by Expert RA - which follows an upgrade by S&P -
reflects the Corporation's achievements in growing the value of our
portfolio company, reducing debt, as well as diversifying and optimising our
debt portfolio."
The ruA rating meets the requirements for inclusion of Sistema's bonds in
the Bank of Russia's Lombard List, which will further strengthen the
investment appeal of our debt instruments.
***
Sistema PJSFC is a publicly-traded diversified Russian holding company
serving over 150 million customers in the sectors of telecommunications,
high technology, financial services, retail, paper and packaging,
agriculture, real estate, tourism and medical services. The company was
founded in 1993. Revenue in 2018 was RUB 777.4 bn; total assets equalled RUB
1.5 trn as of 31 December 2018. Sistema's global depositary receipts are
listed under the "SSA" ticker on the London Stock Exchange. Sistema's
ordinary shares are listed under the "AFKS" ticker on the Moscow Exchange.
Website: www.sistema.com [1]
***
For further information, please visit www.sistema.com [1] or
contact:
Investor Relations Public Relations
Nikolai Minashin Sergey Kopytov
Tel: +7 (495) 730 66 00 Tel.: +7 (495) 228 15 32
n.minashin@sistema.ru kopytov@sistema.ru
ISIN: US48122U2042
Category Code: MSCM
TIDM: SSA
LEI Code: 213800JSZ2UUK4QQK694
Sequence No.: 21262
EQS News ID: 879601
End of Announcement EQS News Service
1: https://link.cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=8dbdb321a88e3508530119f5e3de64d2&application_id=879601&site_id=vwd&application_name=news
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 25, 2019 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)
