S&P upgrades GNC

Standard & Poor's said it raised the rating on GNC Holdings Inc. and General Nutrition Centers Inc. to BB+ from BB.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said it reviewed the ratings on GNC, which it labeled as under observation after the publishing of its revised corporate ratings criteria Nov. 19.

S&P said it expedited the review of GNC's ratings because of the company's announced debt issue.

With the criteria review of GNC complete, the agency said it raised all related issue-level ratings on the company's debt by one notch in conjunction with the upgrade.

The recovery ratings on the company's debt issues remain unchanged, S&P said.

The ratings on the facilities due in 2017 and 2019 are now BBB- with a recovery rating of 2.

The upgrade reflects GNC's satisfactory business risk profile, S&P said. GNC's strengthening competitive position, global geographic presence, economies of scale and vertically integrated operations create operating efficiencies that compare favorably to its peers, said Kristina Koltunicki, an S&P analyst.

The stable outlook reflects an expectation that store expansion in both international and domestic markets and single-digit same-store sales growth will benefit GNC's performance, Koltunicki said.

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