Etisalat, one of the leading telecommunications companies in the Middle East and Africa, has been awarded as one of the highest credit ratings companies in the telecom sector following a rigorous evaluations by the three international credit rating agencies, S&P, Fitch and Moody.
During the second Quarter of 2011, Etisalat Managements met the three international Credit Rating Agencies – Moody’s, Fitch and Standard&Poor’s to review Etisalat’s existing Credit Rating. Based on this review rating agencies affirmed its credit ratings on Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) as following:
Rating Agency Etisalat Credit Rating Global Ranking Europe, Middle East, Africa, & Americas
S&P AA- / Stable 4th 1st
Fitch A+ / Stable 2nd 1st
Moodys’ Aa3 / Stable 4th 1st
Etisalat investment grade ratings are considered among the highest of all globally rated telecommunications companies. In fact, Etisalat is the second highest rated telecom company globally on Fitch rating scale while it is the fourth on S&P and Moodys’ rating scale. Excluding East Asia, Etisalat is rated number one on the agencies rating scales.
Commenting on this achievement, Etisalat Group Chief Executive Officer , H.E. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar said “The credit ratings were achieved following an in-depth review of Etisalat’s operations, covering its corporate strategy, regulatory and competitive landscapes, operational performance, and financial position.
H.E. Julfar added “Maintaining solid ratings from the agencies is a demonstration of Etisalat strong operating performance and prudent financial management during the course of last year. This will help further diversify Etisalat’s funding sources and enhance its negotiating position when securing future financing from debt or capital markets.”
H.E. concluded:-“Etisalat’s ratings demonstrate confidence in the Company’s profitability levels, strong generation of cash flows, good financial flexibility, sound and conservative financial policy, backed by a portfolio of growing overseas assets, the value of which has increased significantly.