German automotive component supplier ZF Friedrichshafen (ZF) reduced debt by €1.4 billion in the second half of 2015, which was above our expectations and which has strengthened its financial risk profile. We expect further deleveraging in 2016. We are therefore raising our long-term corporate credit rating on ZF to 'BB+' from 'BB'. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that ZF will be able to maintain solid EBITDA margins in the 10%-11% range and will continue to deleverage in 2016-2017. On April 13, 2016, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Germany-based automotive component supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF) to 'BB+' from 'BB'. The outlook is stable. At the same time, we raised the issue ratings
