...PARIS (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 27, 2021--Following the release of Telekom Austria AG's (###+/Stable/A-2) third-quarter results, S&P Global Ratings said today that it believes the company's credit metrics will strengthen further through the remainder of the year, providing ample headroom at the current rating level. The group reported 6.2% growth of services revenue in the third quarter of 2021 (3.6% over the first nine months of the year), thanks mainly to mobile services, with EBITDA up 8.7% and 7.7% respectively. We have consequently revised our base case and now project Telekom Austria's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage will decline to about 2.0x on Dec. 31, 2021, from 2.3x in 2020. This compares with our adjusted leverage benchmark of less than 2x for ratings upside. In addition, given the company's robust free cash flow generation of about 600 million annually in our forecasts from 2022 onward, and moderate dividend payments of around 200 million annually on average, we believe...
