26.11.2020
Creditreform Rating has confirmed the unsolicited corporate issuer rating of Snam S.p.A. at BBB+ and changed the outlook from stable to negative. Based on our assessment of the direct and indirect shareholder structure and a certain degree of systemic relevance of Snam S.p.A., the essential relationship with the Italian government and thus the classification as a state-affiliated company was decisive for the rating. The company operates mainly in Italy, which is why we consider the company to be dependent on the general economic situation in the country. The corporate issuer rating of Snam S.p.A. is currently constrained to two notches above the sovereign rating of the Italian Republic (CRA: BBB- / negative as of August 21, 2020). Therefore, a further downgrade of the Italian republic would currently lead to a downgrade of the corporate issuer rating of Snam S.p.A. As the outlook for the sovereign rating of the Italian Republic was changed to negative, we have adjusted the outlook for our corporate issuer rating of Snam S.p.A. accordingly. Due to the regulatory stability of the activities, a positive business development in 2019 and in the first nine months of the 2020 financial year, as well as the results from our analysis of the key financials, together with a good internal financing power and sufficient liquidity reserves, we have confirmed the rating of S.p.A. with BBB+.