S&P removes Cemex from creditwatch

Standard & Poor's ( S&P) has taken Mexican cement giant Cemex (NYSE: CX) off creditwatch and upgraded its outlook to stable while keeping its BBB- local and foreign currency long-term corporate credit ratings, S&P announced. S&P also confirmed its BBB- senior unsecured debt rating on Cemex's notes due 2006 and 2009. "The ratings reflect S&P's expectation that Cemex will use the bulk of its operating cash flow generation and proceeds from asset sales to return to its stated capital structure of 2.7x net debt/Ebitda by end-2005 and to reduce refinancing risk," said S&P credit analyst Jose Coballasi. Favorable conditions include Cemex's leadership position and positive long-term expectations for cement demand in emerging markets, which allows the company to weather volatile market conditions. At the same time, the company's financial policy is considered aggressive given the high proportion of debt used to finance its acquisitions, S&P said. To read S&P's full report in Spanish, paste the following link into your browser: http://www.bnamericas.com/rc_search_detail.xsql?id_documento=64420&Tx_idioma=E