Claire's, US Airways up with numbers; Supervalu steady; LCDX better; Georgia Gulf fills out

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, April 23 - Claire's Stores Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. both saw improvements in their bank debt levels after the release of quarterly numbers, and Supervalu Inc.'s term loan B remained firm on its earnings results.

Also in trading, the LCDX 12 index was stronger in sympathy with equities, while cash was relatively quiet, making the overall market feel unchanged.

Over in primary happening, Georgia Gulf Corp. completed syndication of its asset securitization credit facility and terms on the deal remained in line with original talk.

Claire's better with earnings

Claire's Stores' term loan B gained some ground during the trading session as the company came out with quarterly financials, which, according to one trader, were "not good," but since it seems like the company is "trying to generate some cash and pay down some debt," the loan traded up.

The trader quoted the term loan B at 46 bid, 48 offered, up from 45 bid, 47 offered on Wednesday. A second trader also had the term loan B quoted at 46 bid, 48 offered, but he said it was only up from 45½ bid, 47½ offered.

For the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008, which ended on Jan. 31, Claire's reported a net loss of $569.5 million, compared to net income of $15.3 million in the previous year.

Net sales for the quarter were $393 million, a 12.2% decrease from $447.4 million in the 2007 fourth quarter.

And, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $76.4 million compared to $114.7 million in the prior year's fourth quarter.

Claire's plans to focus on cash flow

Also on Thursday, Claire's said that plans on maximizing 2009 cash flow by aggressively pursuing expense savings opportunities, reducing capital expenditures and capitalizing on sales in its existing store base.

At Jan. 31, cash and cash equivalents were $204.6 million, and $194 million continued to be drawn on the company's revolving credit facility.

As was previously disclosed, the company drew the full available amount under the revolver during the 2008 third quarter in order to preserve the availability of the commitment because a member of the facility syndicate, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy.

The agent bank has not yet found a replacement for Lehman in the facility syndicate, or arranged for the assumption of Lehman's commitment by a creditworthy entity.

The company said that it will continue to assess whether to pay down all or a portion of the outstanding revolver balance based on various factors, including the creditworthiness of other syndicate members and general economic conditions.

Claire's is a specialty retailer of value-priced fashion accessories and jewelry for girls and young women.

US Airways inches up

US Airways term loan was stronger by about a point on the day at 42 bid, 47 offered following the company's earnings announcement, according to a trader.

For the first quarter of 2009, US Airways had a net loss of $103 million, or $0.90 per share, compared to a net loss of $237 million, or $2.58 per share for the same period last year.

The first quarter net loss includes net special credits totaling $157 million. Excluding the special credits, the company reported a net loss of $260 million, or $2.28 per share, compared to a net loss excluding special credits of $240 million, or $2.61 per share, in 2008.

And, total revenues for the quarter were $2.455 billion, down 13.5% from $2.84 billion in the first quarter last year.

US Airways liquidity improves

During the first quarter, US Airways closed on a series of financial transactions, which raised about $115 million in net proceeds, including additional loans under a spare parts loan agreement, a loan secured by certain airport landing slots and an unsecured financing with one of its third party Express carriers.

The company's total cash and investment balance increased by $144 million from Dec. 31.

As of March 31, the company had $2.1 billion in total cash and investments, of which $0.7 billion was restricted, and it had $79 million in cash deposits held by counterparties to its fuel hedging transactions, which are not included in the cash balances.

US Airways is a Tempe, Ariz.-based airline company.

Supervalu steady with numbers

Another company to come out with earnings on Thursday was Supervalu, and its term loan B held firm with fairly positive news that included increasing its guidance for debt repayment in the upcoming fiscal year, according to a trader.

The trader explained that the debt didn't really move higher with the announcement since it "seems to be tucked away with CLO type holders. No volume."

The term loan B was quoted at 93 bid, 93¾ offered, basically unchanged from Wednesday's levels of 93 bid, 94 offered, the trader added.

Supervalu sees $200 million loss

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, Supervalu reported a net loss of $201 million, or $0.95 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $156 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.

The fiscal 2009 fourth quarter net loss included predominantly non-cash charges of $498 million pre-tax or $386 million after-tax, or $1.82 per diluted share, while the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter net gain included charges for one-time acquisition-related costs of $9 million after-tax or $0.04 per diluted share.

When adjusted for the charges, fourth-quarter fiscal 2009 net earnings were $185 million, or $0.87 per diluted share.

Meanwhile, net sales for the quarter were $10.8 billion, compared to net sales of $10.4 billion last year.

Supervalu ups debt reduction plans

Also on Thursday, Supervalu said that it estimates being able to reduce debt in fiscal 2010 by about $700 million - an increase of $100 million from previous guidance, reflecting updated fiscal 2010 capital spending guidance of about $750 million.

The company anticipates generating fiscal 2010 earnings per diluted share on a GAAP basis within a range of $2.44 to $2.59, including charges related to timing of store closure activities of $20 million pre-tax, or $0.06 per share. On an adjusted basis, fiscal 2010 earnings are expected to be in a range of $2.50 to $2.65 per diluted share.

And, net sales for the 52-week 2010 fiscal year are estimated to be about $43 billion.

Supervalu is an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based supermarket operator.

LCDX up with stocks

The LCDX 12 index posted some gains during the trading session as equities saw a slight improvement, according to a trader.

The index was quoted at 78.50 bid, 78.75 offered, up from 78 bid, 78.25 offered, the trader said.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq closed up 6.09 points, or 0.37%, Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 70.49 points, or 0.89%, S&P 500 closed up 8.37 points, or 0.99%, and NYSE closed up 81.49 points, or 1.54%.

Georgia Gulf wraps

Switching to new deal happenings, Georgia Gulf successfully completed the syndication of its $175 million two-year asset securitization credit facility, according to a market source.

Pricing on the facility, which was unchanged throughout syndication, is Libor plus 450 basis points with a 2.5% Libor floor and a 100 bps unused fee.

GE Capital acted as the lead bank on the deal that actually closed last month around the time it was launched into syndication.

There is a $25 million accordion feature.

Georgia Gulf is an Atlanta-based manufacturer and marketer of chlorovinyls and aromatics chemicals, and vinyl-based building and home improvement products.

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