S&P lifts Office Depot view to positive

Standard & Poor's said it revised its outlook on Office Depot Inc. to positive from stable and affirmed the company's BB+ subordinated note rating and BBB- corporate credit and senior unsecured note ratings.

The change in outlook reflects the agency's increased comfort with the company's financial policy and strategic plans and S&P's expectation that share repurchase activity will continue to be funded primarily with cash generated from operations, that operating performance will continue to moderately improve and that management is committed to managing credit metrics at appropriate levels.

The ratings on Office Depot reflect the company's solid position in the North American office products industry, its diverse distribution channels, recent operating improvement in its North American retail business and adequate financial measures, the agency said.

However, S&P said the company continues to face operational and economic challenges in its international operations.

The lease-adjusted total debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 2.3x at Sept. 30.

© 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.