Research Update: Telecom And Technology Provider Turkcell 'BBB-' Rating Affirmed On Solid Operating Performance; Outlook Remains Negative

Although we expect the Turkish lira will depreciate further, we forecast gradually stronger credit ratios for Turkish integrated telecom and technology provider Turkcell, with adjusted debt to EBITDA at about 1.5x and funds from operations (FFO) to debt at about 50%-60% in 2018 and 2019. As a result, Turkcell's stand-alone credit profile has improved to 'bbb', but our ratings on Turkcell are capped at 'BBB-' by our sovereign rating and our transfer and convertibility assessment on Turkey. We are affirming our 'BBB-' ratings on Turkcell and assigning a 'BBB-' issue rating to its proposed 10-year senior unsecured notes. The negative outlook reflects the negative outlook on Turkey, meaning that a negative rating action on the sovereign could lead to a

...+ Although we expect the Turkish lira will depreciate further, we forecast gradually stronger credit ratios for Turkish integrated telecom and technology provider Turkcell, with adjusted debt to EBITDA at about 1.5x and funds from operations (FFO) to debt at about 50%-60% in 2018 and 2019. + As a result, Turkcell's stand-alone credit profile has improved to '###', but our ratings on Turkcell are capped at '###-' by our sovereign rating and our transfer and convertibility assessment on Turkey. + We are affirming our '###-' ratings on Turkcell and assigning a '###-' issue rating to its proposed 10-year senior unsecured notes. + The negative outlook reflects the negative outlook on Turkey, meaning that a negative rating action on the sovereign could lead to a downgrade of Turkcell....

Research Update