OREANDA-NEWS. On August 01, 2008 International rating agency Fitch Ratings kept Long Term Issuer Default Rating of DTEK Holdings Limited (DTEK) at "B+", Short Term Issuer Default Rating at "B", and National Long Term Rating at "AA-", reported the press-centre of SCM.

The rating was assigned to the company in autumn 2007. The agency noted that financial performance of DTEK meets expectations of Fitch Ratings. In the period from 2006 to 2007, capital expenditure jumped 86.8% (grew by UAH 451m to UAH 971m). Operating margin in Financial Year 2007 hit 26.7% (compared to 23.8% year on year).

Rating outlook remains "Stable". Fitch expect DTEK to raise new loans in Financial Year 2008 to refund current short-term loans and ensure a stable debt-to-equity ratio. However, the Agency analysts believe that complicated liberalization process in the every sector of Ukraine can hamper development of DTEK and slow down the growth of its loan portfolio.

In June 2008, Fitch Ratings assigned internal bonds of DTEK with "AA-" rating. The Agency said in its review that "despite high expectations of repayment (of these securities), the upper cap for Ukraine - ‘RP4’ keeps the rating of DTEK on this level".

"It is very much important for us that despite a difficult financial situation in Ukraine and changes, which the domestic energy sector is undergoing, the leading international analysts regard DTEK as a stable company and highly assess our potential", said CFO of DTEK Yuriy Ryzhenkov.