Fitch Ratings Affirms PhosAgro's BBB-/Stable Credit Rating

 

Moscow - PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR) ("PhosAgro", the "Company"), one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces that Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Company's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings at 'BBB-' and Short-Term Rating at 'F3'. The Outlook for the rating is Stable.

 

In its announcement, Fitch Ratings notes PhosAgro's investment-grade business profile, which is supported by the company's global leadership and significant market presence in phosphates. In particular, the rating agency notes that PhosAgro has one of the lowest DAP cash costs of production in the industry, which ensures its resilience to market fluctuations and allows it to generate substantial operating cash flows even during periods of volatility on the global fertilizer market.

 

PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: "I am pleased that an authoritative international agency has once again confirmed our Company's status as a first-class borrower. I view this decision by Fitch as a confirmation of the effectiveness of our long-term strategy, which is based on a balanced approach to investment decision-making, as well as ensuring a high dividend yield and maintaining comfortable debt levels."

 

PhosAgro currently holds three investment-grade credit ratings :

 

- Standard & Poor's Rating / Forecast: "BBB-" / "Stable"

- Moody's Rating / Forecast: "Baa3" / "Stable"

- Fitch Ratings Rating / Forecast: "BBB-" / "Stable"

 

About PhosAgro

 

PhosAgro () is one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content of 39% and higher. PhosAgro's environmentally friendly fertilizers stand out for their high efficiency, and they do no lead to the contamination of soils with heavy metals.

 

The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer in Europe (by total combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline concentrate (according to the RAFP).

 

PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, 39 grades of fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate, which are used by customers in 100 countries spanning all of the world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets outside of Russia and the CIS are Latin America, Europe and Asia.

 

PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and global depositary receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1 June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.

 

More information about PhosAgro can be found on the website: .