Italcementi launches five-year bond, Italy

Italcementi, the fifth-largest cement producer in the world, has launched a five-year bond of EUR350m at an issue price of EUR99.477 and a coupon of 6.125 per cent, according to reports in La Stampa. At the closure of the placement, orders exceeded EUR 2.5bn.

Credit rating agency Moody's has rated the Italcementi bond Ba2 with a "negative" outlook. For 2013, Moody's expects Italcementi to face challenging market conditions in its key markets Egypt and France and, to a lesser extent, in Morocco where trading conditions could improve modestly.

Trading conditions should remain challenging in Italy as well notwithstanding that the contribution of this market currently is not material to the group anymore due to the weak overall environment.

On a positive note Moody’s expect markets such as the US, India and Thailand to support the group's operating performance. The group will remain largely focused on reducing costs during 2013 but it will be challenging to stabilize the group's credit given the continued difficult market conditions expected in several of the group's most important markets.

Standard & Poor's has assigned the bond a BB+ rating with a "stable" outlook.