Moody's revises down POSCO's rating

The global credit rater Moody's said Thursday that it revised down the outlook for POSCO's A3 credit rating to negative from stable. "The negative outlook mainly reflects the increasing likelihood that POSCO's financial profile will remain weak for its A3 rating over the next 12-18 months, given its higher-than-expected financial leverage in 2011 and the persistent challenges surrounding the Asian steel industry," Chris Park, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's, said in an e-mailed statement. The rating outlook downgrade came three days after Standard & Poor's cut the corporate credit rating on POSCO by one notch to A-minus. Before the rating cut, POSCO unveiled its third-quarter earnings results, with its operating profit shrinking 26 percent on-quarter and an operating profit marking falling below eight percent.