Fitch affirms Gazprom rating at BBB-, outlook positive

MOSCOW, Sep 26 (PRIME) -- International rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed Russian gas giant Gazprom’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at BBB- with a positive outlook, the agency said late Tuesday.

“Gazprom’s IDR is capped by that of Russia (BBB-/Positive), the energy company’s controlling shareholder. We assess the standalone rating of Gazprom at A- taking into account its strong operational and financial profiles as well as country-specific and corporate governance risks. We are likely to upgrade Gazprom’s IDR to BBB if the sovereign is upgraded,” Fitch said.

“We believe Gazprom will remain the largest gas supplier to Europe, its key market, and that it would be able to defend its market share given low production costs.”

Fitch forecasts that Gazprom’s exports to Europe will reach a record of 200 billion cubic meters in 2018 “helped by increased flexibility of Gazprom’s pricing and rising demand due to higher coal prices and favorable weather conditions.”

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