S&P raises Usiminas

Standard & Poor's said it raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas) to BB+ from BB.

The ratings were removed from CreditWatch with positive implications where they were placed on Feb. 28, the agency said.

The outlook is stable.

S&P said that the rating action reflects the improving operating environment in the company's home country of Brazil, which reduces the relevance of the company's exposure to country risks as a constraining rating factor, combined with the expectations that Usiminas will preserve adequate credit measures even considering its robust announced capital expenditures program for the next four years.

The ratings on Usiminas reflect its exposure to the cyclical and volatile global steel sector, some reliance on the equally volatile economic and operating environment of its home market Brazil, increasing competition within the Brazilian steel industry and the risks associated with the company's significant capital expenditures program, the agency added.

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