Moscow – PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, announces that the Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Company’s long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at BBB- with a stable outlook.
Fitch’s rating reflects PhosAgro’s global cost leadership, significant market presence in phosphates and solid financial profile.
In its report, Fitch said it expects PhosAgro’s resilience to further improve. The report mentions the EU’s ban on imports of phosphate-based fertilizers with cadmium content in excess of 60 mg / kg of P2O5, beginning in 2022 – with a subsequent review of the limit to take place by 2026. The agency says these restrictions support the prospects for PhosAgro’s exports to the EU given that the Company’s mineral fertilizers do not contain hazardous concentrations of heavy metals or other toxic substances.
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “Fitch’s affirmation of PhosAgro’s rating is proof of the effectiveness and flexibility of our business model, which has enabled PhosAgro to maintain high credit ratings even while implementing a large-scale investment programme as part of the 2025 strategy. Of particular importance to us is the fact that Fitch has recognised our prospects in the EU market due to the fact that our products do not contain hazardous concentrations of harmful substances and comply with even the most stringent restrictions on the content of harmful impurities such as cadmium.”
PhosAgro currently has three investment-grade credit ratings:
- Standard & Poor’s: BBB-/Stable
- Moody’s: Baa3/Stable
- Fitch: BBB-/Stable
PhosAgro has also received several other high ratings from leading sustainability agencies. In May 2021, MSCI ESG Research raised the Company’s rating from BBB to A, which underlines PhosAgro’s leading position among Russian companies and among global producers of mineral fertilizers. In 2020, Sustainalytics upgraded PhosAgro’s ESG rating from 43.5 to 26.9, which is one of the best ESG risk management ratings in the Russian market. CDP, a respected research firm in the area of climate responsibility metrics, upgraded PhosAgro’s rating from C to B-. In a rating by Institutional Investor, one of the world’s leading financial publications, PhosAgro was ranked first in six categories, including Environmental, Social and Management Responsibility Metrics.