Germany-based waste management firm ALBA Group plc&Co. KG's weighted-average maturity of debt is now about two years, which we view as a negative factor in our assessment of the company's capital structure. In addition, we anticipate that market prices for metals and scrap are unlikely to recover materially from currently low levels which, in our view, could hamper the company's financial flexibility and cash flow generation. As a result, we are lowering our long-term corporate credit rating on ALBA Group to 'B-' from 'B'. The negative outlook reflects our view that the operating environment continues to be challenging, that refinancing risks could mount over the next 12 months, and that there are downside risks to our base-case forecast.
