LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 11, 2001--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus/'A-2' corporate credit ratings to Switzerland-based cement manufacturer Holcim Ltd. The outlook is negative. The ratings reflect Holcim's solid market position in the global cement industry, broad geographic diversification of its cost-efficient operations, good and stable profitability over the past five years, strong free cash flow generation, and moderate financial profile. These factors are somewhat tempered by an increasingly aggressive financial policy and moderately challenging industry fundamentals, including cyclicality and competition. With sales of Swiss franc (SFr) 14 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2000, the company is the world's second-largest cement manufacturer, behind France-based Lafarge S.A. (A-/Watch Neg/A-2), but ahead of Germany-based Heidelberger Zement AG (BBB+/Negative/A-2). Holcim's above-average
