Rolls-Royce downgraded by Fitch

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Rolls-Royce Holdings plc’s (Rolls-Royce) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating to ‘A-‘ from ‘A’. The Outlook on the Long-Term IDR is Stable. The downgrade reflects Fitch’s view that Rolls-Royce will achieve a weaker than expected recovery in its key credit metrics such as free cash-flow generation and gross leverage beyond 2016 than was previously anticipated. Consequently, the company is likely to continue to have a credit profile which is no longer commensurate with the ‘A’ rating. Fitch commented that the recent fines agreed between Rolls-Royce and a number of regulatory bodies in January