KIEV, Oct. 28 – Moody's Investors Service on Oct. 28 withdrew the Caa1 corporate family rating of OJSC Zaporizhstal.

The last rating action was taken on Oct. 20, 2008 when Moody's downgraded the B3 corporate family rating of OJSC Zaporizhstal to Caa1, reflecting Moody's expectation that its weak financial performance will not materially improve over the intermediate term, in particular as the market environment has become more challenging for the steel industry since the end of 2008. The outlook for the rating was left unchanged at stable.

Located in the Zaporizhia region, OJSC Zaporizhstal is the country's fourth-largest integrated steel producer with an annual production capacity of 4.57 million tons. In 2007, the company reported sales of UAH 9.635 billion (app. $1.9 billion) and EBITDA of UAH 884.3 million (app. $177 million).