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BA fury at City junk bond decision
Carrier’s shares downgraded because of challenging industry environment
British Airways has reacted furiously to the news that its shares have been downgraded to “junk” status by an influencial investment ratings agency.
Standard & Poor’s, the US-based agency, lowered its “speculative” rating to BB+, saying that because of the “more challenging industry environment” prevailing at the moment, BA shares were unlikely to be given an “investment grade” rating for at least a few years.
The rating is in marked contrast to a recent decision by rival agency Moody’s, which last week chose to leave the BA rating unchanged.
BA’s chief financial officer John Rishton said he was “astonished” at the news. He reportedly told the Financial Times: “The Iraq war is over, SARS is fading, the US economy is showing signs of recovery and traffic volumes are improving from their worst levels. We have delivered all our targets and more, and the external environment is better.”
Shares in British Airways fell back 3.75p to 147.75p in Tuesday’s stock market trading.
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