Standard&Poor's said today that the announcement by France-based Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (Saint-Gobain; A/Negative/A-1) of its 2001 full-year preliminary results, and the €345 million projected tender offer for the 25% minority interest in its 75%-owned subsidiary Lapeyre, have no impact on the group's ratings or outlook. Preliminary results demonstrate Saint-Gobain's strong resilience amid more challenging market conditions, and revealed a somewhat improved financial profile at year-end. The ratio of funds from operations to net debt grew to about 35%, from 32% in 2000, remaining above the 30% floor considered critical by Standard&Poor's for the current rating level. Standard&Poor's considers the tender offer to be in keeping with Saint-Gobain's 2002 acquisition budget, which has been
