Standard & Poor's today downgraded Eni's long and short term rating from A/A-1 to A-/A-2.
“The stable outlook – writes the American agency in the press release -. At the same time we downgraded our long-term rating on Eni's unsecured debt from A to A-. Finally, we removed the negative creditwatch, which we set on December 22, 2014”.
The primary reason for S&P's decision is “the low oil and gas price, which will persist over the next 2 years and produce lower profits and negative downstream cash flow from investments and dividends, despite management actions to curb the coupon and reduce costs and investments”.
The agency also cites the difficulties in the "high-risk" countries in which the oil group operates (such as Libya and Nigeria) and the weakness of the Italian economy which weighs on gas and refining.
