Moody's lifts Citricola to Baa3.uy

Moody's Latin America said it affirmed Citricola Saltena SA's B3 $0.8 million secured bonds and upgraded its national scale rating to Baa3.uy from Ba1.uy.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the upgrade of Citricola's national scale rating was principally driven by stronger harvest prices and financial results in 2006 than 2005. Most notably, the company's free cash flow turned positive in 2006, reducing Moody's concerns about the company's ability to make ongoing principal payments on its debt.

Citricola's ratings continue to reflect its very small size, limited franchise strength, volatile credit metrics and the limit placed on its growth potential by the commodity nature of its products, the agency said.

The ratings are supported by Citricola's advantage of having a harvest season for its produce that is opposite of its global competitors producing in the Northern Hemisphere, where consumers of its products are concentrated, Moody's added.

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