Lafarge credit rating downgraded

Credit rating agency 4446 Moody's has downgraded French cement group 725 Lafarge's rating from Baa3 to Ba1, with a stable outlook.

The move comes after it was put under surveillance on 2 August, 2011. The agencies Standard & Poors and 4449 Fitch have already given the French group a speculative grade.

Meanwhile, Moody's has downgraded the outlook on Italian construction materials manufacturer 726 Italcementi and on its controlled Italcementi Finance, as well as on the French subsidiary 1508 Ciments Francais to negative.

This decision is said to be based on the company's disappointing results for the first half of 2011, which showed a sharp worsening during the second quarter of the year.

Expectations for the second half remain negative mainly due to a rise in energy prices, which are unlikely to be compensated given the limited capacity to increase prices.