BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. Moody’s Ratings
has affirmed Kazatomprom JSC’s (KAP) long-term issuer rating at
Baa1 and upgraded its Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) to baa2 from
baa3.


This was announced in a report published by the Moody’s
Ratings.


According to the agency report, the outlook remains stable.


Moody’s said the upgrade reflects Kazatomprom’s sustained strong
operating and financial performance, high profitability, robust
liquidity and conservative financial policies.


"The upgrade of KAP's BCA reflects the continuing track record
of the company's strong operating and financial performance, high
profitability, robust liquidity and adherence to conservative
financial policies," Moody’s said.


The agency also highlighted KAP’s strong credit metrics,
liquidity and net cash position, which have been maintained
throughout the uranium price cycle.


According to Moody’s, the assessment is supported by
Kazatomprom’s low-cost position based on in-situ leaching recovery
(ISR) technology, its leading share of around 20% of global uranium
production and one of the largest uranium reserve bases
globally.


Moody’s also cited the company’s long-term contracts with
customers and geographical diversification of sales.







At the same time, the agency pointed to KAP’s limited business
diversification, with more than 90% of revenue derived from uranium
and uranium products, geographical concentration of assets in
Kazakhstan, exposure to uranium price volatility and risks inherent
to the uranium extraction process.


The assessment also takes into account high capital spending and
sizeable dividend payouts under the company’s dividend policy.


"KAP's stable outlook is in line with outlooks of the Government
of Kazakhstan and Samruk-Kazyna," Moody’s said.


According to Trend
analysis, the assessment is in line with a broader trend of
international rating agencies maintaining or improving their
assessments of major Kazakh companies in recent months. S&P
Global Ratings has upgraded the ratings of KazMunayGas (KMG),
Tengizchevroil (TCO), QazaqGaz and several financial institutions
following its revision of Kazakhstan’s sovereign rating.


Fitch Ratings recently affirmed Kazatomprom’s Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating at BBB with a Stable Outlook.


The trend also extends to Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit profile.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said successful implementation
of planned reforms could improve the country’s sovereign credit
profile and increase its chances of reaching the A rating
category.


"Successful implementation of the planned reforms increases
Kazakhstan’s chances of obtaining a sovereign rating in the ‘A’
category. S&P’s upgrade to ‘BBB’ was another step in this
direction. Kazakhstan’s current sovereign ratings are ‘Baa1’ from
Moody’s and ‘BBB’ from Fitch and S&P," the bank said.