Fitch revises Darden view to positive

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Darden Restaurants, Inc.'s ratings, including its long-term issuer default rating at BBB- and the short-term rating at F3.

The outlook has been revised to positive from negative.

The positive outlook reflects the faster-than-expected rebound in the company's margins and Fitch's expectation that top line could recover to $8.3 billion and EBITDA could trend toward $1.2 billion in fiscal 2022 (ending May 2022), close to pre-pandemic levels such that gross debt/EBITDA trends under 3x, Fitch said in a news release.

“Increased confidence in the company's ability to sustain adjusted leverage below 3x as consumer behavior and industry conditions normalize could lead to an upgrade,” the agency said in the news release.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.