Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'B' long-term corporate credit rating to Ukraine-based crop producer and trader Ukrainian Agrarian Investments S.A. (UAI), the rating agency has said in a statement.

"The rating on UAI reflects our assessment that the company's business risk profile is 'weak.' Our assessment primarily reflects UAI's participation in the volatile agriculture industry and the high risk of doing business in Ukraine. Moreover, there is a history of intervention by the government of the Ukraine (B+/Negative/B) in UAI's markets. It is our view that if the Ukrainian government were to interfere in agricultural markets in the future--including the imposition of new restrictions on export sales--UAI's sales, profitability, and cash flow could weaken. In addition, the highly seasonal nature of UAI's business (entailing fluctuations in working capital) and the unpredictability of weather patterns are key risk factors for the company and the rating. Many of these risks are largely out of the company's control," reads the statement.

As reported, Ukrainian Agrarian Investments earlier received a USD 40 million credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Ukrainian Agrarian Investments leases 260,000 hectares of agricultural land in ten regions in Ukraine. The company is engaged in growing wheat, corn, sunflower seeds, rapeseed, soybeans and barley.

Ukrinform