Mumbai: Ratings agency Standard Poor's (SP) has revised Tata Steel's outlook from stable to positive based on the the stability of international steel prices and lower likelihood of the company acquiring Bhushan Power and Steel which will keep its credit profile strong.
The outlook has been revised to BB- as the prospects of Tata Steel acquiring the debt-laden steel company Bhushan Power and Steel grow dimmer with JSW Steel already have gotten the letter of intent (LoI) for the asset.
"Continued stable outlook for Indian steel prices is likely to keep Tata Steel Ltd's earnings robust over the next 12 months," SP said in a note.
"We no longer expect Tata Steel to be able to acquire Bhushan Power and Steel.
Therefore, Tata Steel's credit ratios are likely to move above our upgrade trigger in the next 12 months," it added in the note.
The "deconsolidation" of the company's low-margin European businesses are further positives for the company's credit positioning.
"As a result, we expect the company's ratio of funds from operations (FFO) to debt to improve to 15%-17% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020," the note said.