S&P boosts Exide

Standard & Poor's said it raised the corporate credit rating on Exide Technologies to B from B- as a result of the company's improved financial results, which have led to continued reduction in debt leverage.

The agency upgraded the $130 million secured term bank loan due 2012 to BB- from B+, $290 million 10½% senior secured-lien notes due 2013 to B- from CCC+ and subordinated local-currency rating to CCC+ from CCC.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade reflects Exide's improved financial risk profile and the agency's belief that the company should be able to sustain its stronger credit ratios, even in the face of economic weakness in the United States and the potential for softer sales in other regions, according to S&P.

The company has benefited from improved pricing in most of its battery segments, helping it more than offset sharply higher lead costs, the agency noted.

As of the end of March, the issuer's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio was just more than 4 times, compared with nearly 6 times a year earlier and more than 11 times in early 2006.

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