S&P Global Ratings affirmed Citycon Oyj's issuer credit ratings at BBB-/A-3 and revised its ratings outlook to negative from stable, citing rising leverage and tougher market conditions.
The outlook revision factors in the rating agency's view of increasing risks to the shopping center-focused property company's operating performance and financial risk profile due to challenging market conditions. Ratings said Citycon's credit metrics may weaken toward the low end of the range in proportion with the ratings over the next 12 to 24 months, due to ongoing soft trading conditions, rising yields in the Nordic retail sector and uncertainties regarding planned asset disposals.
The negative outlook indicates that the rating agency could downgrade Citycon over the next 12 to 24 months if its leverage increases while operating performance continues to weaken.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
