PARIS (Standard&Poor's) March 27, 2002--Standard&Poor's said today it has lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on German cement producer Heidelberger Zement AG to triple-'B' from triple-'B'-plus, reflecting a deterioration in the group's financial profile. The outlook is negative. At the same time, Standard&Poor's lowered its short-term corporate credit rating on the company to 'A-3' from 'A-2'. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on Nov. 23, 2001. "The downgrade reflects a further deterioration of the group's financial profile in 2001 and Standard&Poor's subsequent anticipation that a recovery to sounder financials would fall short of initial expectations," said Xavier Buffon, a Standard&Poor's credit analyst.
