OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2015. Fitch Ratings says in a new report that the EMEA building materials and products sector will see deleveraging over the coming years, as companies focus on asset disposals, capital increases and earnings growth.

In the report, Fitch says credit profiles in the EMEA building materials and products sector will remain broadly stable in 2016, despite limited financial flexibility at end-2015. Companies in the consolidated building materials sector benefit from investment-grade business profiles, but suffer from speculative grade financial profiles, which are now many notches below companies' IDRs.

The stable sector outlook reflects our expectation that the recovery in building materials and products in North America and selected European markets will continue in 2016. Markets remain difficult in central and southern European countries, including France, although they may have troughed in Spain and Portugal. Emerging markets still offer high-growth opportunities, but the pressure to invest in these is easing, as the weight is gradually shifting towards developed markets.