Poste Italiane rating downgraded
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded from Aa2 to A1 the long-term senior unsecured issuer rating as well as the senior unsecured rating on the Euro 2 billion MTN of Poste Italiane S.p.A. (Poste Italiane). The rating downgrade reflects the fact that Poste Italiane’s future debt holders will no longer enjoy an implicit guarantee from the State of Italy. Due to the importance of the services provided by Poste Italiane, Moody’s expects continued financial compensation from the government, as Poste Italiane has been designated as the universal postal service provider until at least 2014. The Italian market for mail delivery has been partially opened up to competition following EU directives. Nevertheless, Poste Italiane still has a monopoly on the delivery of addressed mail items weighing up to 100 grams and will do so for over 50 grams in 2006. Over 80% of Poste Italiane’s mail volume is generated by letters weighing less than 50g, which means that the bulk of revenues will continue to enjoy exclusivity until at least 2009. The market for unaddressed advertising mail has been fully liberalised, and addressed direct mail is liberalised for mailings exceeding 10,000 items. Further liberalisation in the Italian market is likely to follow EU guidelines.
