Italian Construction Group Webuild S.p.A. 'BB-' Rating Remains On CreditWatch Negative On Cash Flow Uncertainties

Webuild S.p.A. (formerly Salini Impregilo S.p.A) reported a strong decline in operating profit for first-half 2020 owing to the pandemic. While we expect a spike in leverage to above 5x this year, the company might benefit from significant cash inflows in the second part of the year related to advance payments, which would decrease its net financial position. We are maintaining the ratings on Webuild on CreditWatch with negative implications. We aim to resolve the CreditWatch placement in the coming months once we have more visibility on the company's performance and working capital path--including its ability to collect advance payments and recover seasonal cash outflows from the first part of the year. PARIS (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 10, 2020-- S&P

...August 10, 2020 - Webuild S.p.A. (formerly Salini Impregilo S.p.A) reported a strong decline in operating profit for first-half 2020 owing to the pandemic. - While we expect a spike in leverage to above 5x this year, the company might benefit from significant cash inflows in the second part of the year related to advance payments, which would decrease its net financial position. - We are maintaining the ratings on Webuild on CreditWatch with negative implications. - We aim to resolve the CreditWatch placement in the coming months once we have more visibility on the company's performance and working capital path--including its ability to collect advance payments and recover seasonal cash outflows from the first part of the year. PARIS (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 10, 2020-- S&P Global Ratings today took the rating actions listed above. The pandemic has severely affected Webuild's performance. It pushed governments across the world to suspend construction projects, which resulted in a slowdown...

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