The agency said, "The ratings on the existing notes issued by Alrosa Finance S.A have been upgraded from Ba3 to Ba2 to reflect a sustained reduction of the share of secured debt in the Company's financing structure."
Alrosa provides about 23% of the world's diamonds. The company's annual turnover is estimated at $2 billion. Its major shareholders are the Russian government (37%), the Yakutian government (32%), the personnel (23%), and eight Yakutian districts (8%).
Moody's said: "The stable outlook reflects Moody's unchanged assumptions about the diamond market and the expectation that Alrosa will successfully complete and start-up new underground mines to replace depleting open pit extraction, and will continue to improve production efficiencies to offset additional cost associated with the underground mining. The stable outlook also reflects Moody's expectation that Alrosa will continue to strengthen its direct sales at the international diamond market and will start to redirect its export sales from DeBeers."
