S&P подтвердило долгосрочные рейтинги Казахтелекома на уровне "ВВ-"

/REUTERS, Лондон, 05.02.03/ - Международное рейтинговое агентство Standard & Poor's подтвердило долгосрочные рейтинги крупнейшего оператора связи в Казахстане - Казахтелекома - на уровне "ВВ-". Прогноз изменения рейтингов - стабильный, говорится в сообщении, распространенном в среду. Правительству республики принадлежит 50 процентов акций компании. "Рейтинги... отражают монопольные позиции на прибыльном рынке междугородных и международных телефонных переговоров и высокие барьеры, ограничивающие приход сторонних компаний на местный рынок проводной телефонной связи. Потенциал прибыльности компании также отражается в присвоенных рейтингах", - говорится в сообщении. Ниже следует оригинал сообщения Standard & Poor's на английском языке: LONDON, Feb 5 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it affirmed its BB-' long-term corporate credit ratings on OJSC Kazakhtelecom (KTC), the 50% state-owned national telecoms operator in the Republic of Kazakhstan (local currency BB+/Positive/B; foreign currency BB/Positive/B), following a review. The outlook is stable. "The ratings on KTC primarily reflect its monopoly position in the profitable domestic long-distance and international telecoms markets and the high barriers to entry to the Kazakh fixed-line telecoms market. The company's sound profitability also supports the ratings," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Michael O'Brien. In addition, Kazakhstan's improving macroeconomic factors and KTC's focus on efficiency and network modernization before the liberalization of the Kazakh telecoms market could positively affect operating fundamentals in the medium term. "The ratings on KTC are constrained by a shareholders' decision stipulating that 20% of net income for 2001 should be paid to shareholders. This forced the company to raise debt to fund dividend payments in addition to borrowing to fund its investment program and refinancing of maturing debt. This may oblige KTC to cut back and delay investments for modernization of its network and would weaken liquidity," said Mr. O'Brien. The ratings are also constrained by significant challenges arising from the high capital expenditure requirements that KTC faces in order to expand and upgrade its network. About 60% of KTC's revenues are derived from the international long-distance and domestic long-distance segments, which contributed to an overall EBITDA margin of 36.9% in the first nine months of 2002. Despite four years of sustained capital expenditure to modernize and expand its network, KTC retains a moderate capital structure, with total debt to capitalization of about 35% and total debt of 24.7 billion Kazakh tenge (KZT; $159 million) at Sept. 30, 2002, compared with KZT21.8 billion at year-end 2001. Free operating cash flow generation (FOCF) was negative for the first nine months of 2002. Standard & Poor's expects KTC to generate positive FOCF in the next few years owing to improved efficiency and higher revenues. Standard & Poor's would be concerned, however, if KTC postpones needed capital expenditure to fund dividend payments. "The stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that KTC will proceed with the successful execution of its business plan and will gradually improve its operating efficiency and cash flow generation and maintain a level of liquidity appropriate for the rating," concluded Mr. O'Brien. [2003-02-05]