LONDON (Standard & Poor's) March 22, 2011--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
said today that it lowered to 'CCC+' from 'B-' its long-term corporate credit
rating on Italian-based international publisher of classified directories SEAT
PagineGialle SpA (SEAT). The outlook is negative.
At the same time, we lowered to 'B-' from 'B' our issue ratings on SEAT's
first-lien term debt, revolving credit facility (RCF), and senior secured
notes. The recovery ratings on these debt instruments are unchanged at '2',
indicating our expectation of substantial (70%-90%) recovery in the event of a
payment default.
We also lowered to 'CCC+' from 'B-' our issue rating on the second-lien notes
issued by related entity Lighthouse International Co. S.A. The recovery rating
on these notes is unchanged at '4', indicating our expectation of average
(30%-50%) recovery in the event of a payment default.
"The downgrades follow the Board of Directors' decision to instruct the
Chairman and CEO to identify, with the support of qualified advisors,
available financial options to guarantee the long-term stability of SEAT's
financial structure," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Carlo Castelli.
"The downgrades mainly reflect our opinion that, given SEAT's upcoming
material debt maturities and persistent high leverage, management could
implement credit-dilutive debt-restructuring measures over the next 12-18
months," added Mr. Castelli. "We could view these measures as being tantamount
to default."
SEAT's reported consolidated revenues and EBITDA were down by about 8.2% and
8.4%, respectively, in the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2010. In our opinion,
SEAT's operating performance will likely remain under strain in 2011, as a
result of the decline in the profitable traditional print business, along with
ongoing difficult economic environments. As a consequence, we anticipate a
mid-single-digit decline in the group's revenues in 2011. We project that
EBITDA will stabilize at about €450 million in 2011 (before restructuring
costs).
We believe that SEAT will remain highly leveraged over the medium term due to
its recent deferral of debt amortization. Standard & Poor's-adjusted gross
debt to EBITDA stood at 6.2x in the year ended Dec. 31, 2009, compared with
6.0x as of year-end 2008, owing to the decline in EBITDA. We believe that this
ratio is unlikely to improve to less than 6x in the medium term, unless SEAT
manages to quickly turn its operating performance around.
We could downgrade SEAT if, as the group moves closer to significant debt
maturities in June 2012 and 2013, it announces debt-restructuring measures
that we would deem tantamount to a default. The negative outlook also reflects
our opinion that SEAT's capital structure may not be sustainable over the long
term, as a result of ongoing pressures on the group's operating performance.
Although unlikely at this point, we could revise the outlook to stable if SEAT
were able to stabilize its operating performance within the next 12 months and
succeed in implementing measures to successfully address the refinancing risk
in 2012-2013. However, such a revision would also depend on the group being
able to avoid wiping out its cash flow generation to fund interest costs and
maintain adequate covenant headroom.