Fitch: Rolls-Royce Settlement Will Not Affect Underlying Rating Metrics

Fitch Ratings says the £671 million fine that Rolls-Royce Holdings (A/Negative) will pay over 2017 – 2021 as part of its settlement with various regulatory bodies in the UK, the US and Brazil relating to historical bribery and corruption practices will not, in itself, have a material impact on the key credit metrics underpinning the rating of the company. Fitch estimates that the effect on gross leverage will be minimal as these cash payments are likely to be made chiefly out of the group’s ample cash reserves (£2.3bn at end-1H16). The negative effect on net leverage from the payments is