Moody's cuts Jack-in-the-Box

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the corporate family rating of Jack-in-the-Box Inc. to B1 from Ba3. Moody's also lowered the senior secured ratings on the $400 million senior secured revolver due 2015 and $200 million senior secured term loan due 2015 to B1 (LGD 3, 36%) from Ba3 (LGD 3, 38%) and the probability of default rating to B2 from B1.

The outlook is stable.

The ratings downgrade reflects the view that debt protection metrics will not materially improve over the intermediate term as soft consumer spending and a persistently high level of promotional continue to negatively impact operating performance, the agency said.

The ratings also incorporate Jack-in-the-Box's strong brand recognition, meaningful scale and good liquidity, Moody's said.

For the 12 month period ending April 17, leverage was high at about 5.4 times while interest coverage was modest at 1.8 times, the agency added.

© 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.