JAKARTA. Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) affirmed its rating for PT Barito Pacific Tbk (BRPT). However, it downgraded the company's outlook from “stable” to “negative”.
In its rating report, Pefindo stated that the downgrade was caused by low cash inflows from the company's subsidiary. "Especially the subsidiary that runs the petrochemical business (PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk, which is rated idAA- / negative)," explained Pefindo.
Pefindo added that BRPT's rating and outlook may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, which caused petrochemical business to slow down a little.
However, Pefindo emphasized that the outlook could still be improved, especially if BRPT continues to increase its financial support for Chandra Asri Petrochemical.
For information, BRPT's sales fell by 53.96% to US$1.12 billion at the first half of 2020. Although its EBITDA margin was maintained at 18.9%, BRPT suffered a net loss of US$8.9 million. (KR/AR)