The Standard & Poor’s agency lowered the long-term issuer credit rating of Petroperu to “B-” from “B” and placed the state oil company on negative credit watch.
“We believe that uncertainty has increased about the government’s ability to implement sustainable corrective measures to support Petroperú, a refiner and fuel supplier owned by the Peruvian government, and we now consider that the probability of government support is lower,” the rating agency said.
In his report, he also specified that the state company’s performance remains weak and warned that there is a probability that the public company’s ratings will be lowered in the coming months if the restructuring process results in a debt buyback in the coming months.
“We believe that the government’s ability to implement sustainable corrective measures for Petroperú is uncertain amid persistent political changes, which could translate into poor administration and uncertainty about the government’s future policies,” he said.
Likewise, he pointed out that although they consider that the oil company will cover the debt maturities of December 2025, given that the company has not managed to generate positive cash flow in recent years, “we anticipate that the prospective cash flow will remain very limited, we do not foresee the possibility of a debt reduction in the coming years.”
It should be noted that in August of this year, the Fitch Ratings agency decided to maintain Petroperú’s long-term rating in foreign and local currency at ‘CCC+’, which is considered a “junk bond” or high risk.
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