Through its diversified portfolio across the printing and writing paper, tissue paper, metal converting and building materials industries, as well as business and environmental services, among other activities, Emirati conglomerate Ittihad International Investment (Ittihad) recorded sales of UAE dirham (AED) 11 billion and S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA of AED506 million in 2022. We consider Ittihad's end-market diversification, favorable cost-positioning in its paper operations, logistic advantages, and highly liquid copper inventories as supportive of the rating. We view the commoditized nature of some of the group's products, the limited size of its stand-alone operations, and the geographic concentration of its assets as offsetting factors. We assigned our preliminary 'B+' long-term issuer credit rating to Ittihad. We also assigned a preliminary 'B+'
