...March 10, 2020 LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) March 10, 2020--S&P Global Ratings said today that Tesco PLC's plan to sell its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia and return the majority of the proceeds to shareholders is not detrimental to its credit profile. In fact, compared with our previous forecasts, the net effect of the sale and the proposed use of the proceeds will be modestly positive. It will reduce Tesco's adjusted debt to EBITDA by 0.2x and increase adjusted free operating cash flow to debt by around 1.5%, over the financial year ending in February 2021. The incremental, albeit modest, debt reduction, combined with continued sound execution and a commitment to a tighter financial policy, should provide Tesco with some leeway and mitigate the effects of competition on its revenue growth and margins in its main home market. The higher-margin Asia business has revenue of ú4.9 billion and contributed ú640 million to the group's adjusted EBITDA of ú4.4 billion in the financial year...
