Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Romania-based Autonom Services' long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to stable from negative and affirmed the IDR at B+.

Autonom is a small, family-owned, car lessor providing operating leasing and, to a lesser extent, short-term rentals to domestic SMEs.

It raised EUR 20 mln in December 2019 with five-year bonds denominated in euros, having a 4.45% coupon attached.

The rating agency based the revision of the outlook on the company's "resilient financial performance since the onset of the pandemic, notably regarding profitability, asset quality and funding and liquidity."

"We have managed to improve our performance in the eyes of an independent agency, and we have progressed from a negative perspective to a stable one in just one year, one of the most challenging so far for our industry. We believe that this performance is due to our way of operating, based on values ​​and autonomy. He guided us in all the decisions taken in 2020," says Marius Stefan, co-founder of Autonom.

Fitch has also affirmed Autonom's senior unsecured debt rating at B-/RR6. This is two notches down from the company's long-term IDR, reflecting expectations of poor recoveries, driven by its contractual subordination to predominantly secured funding.

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andrei@romania-insider.com