...FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 4, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings and outlook on Telekom Austria AG (###/Positive/A-2) are unaffected by the company's announced intention to repay its 600 million hybrid bond at the first call date on Feb. 1, 2018. We expect Telekom Austria's decision to repay its hybrid without replacing it will result in only a marginal weakening of our 2018 base-case assumptions for the company's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted credit metrics--an increase of about 0.2x in adjusted debt to EBITDA and a one-percentage-point drop in adjusted free operating cash flow to debt. This will stem from the loss of intermediate equity content. We still believe that improving operating trends in Austria and other markets could support near-term ratings upside, including adjusted free operating cash flow to debt of 10%-15% on a sustainable basis, alongside maintaining adjusted debt to EBITDA below 3x and funds from operations to debt of at least 30%. For more...
