Moody's: Owens & Minor view positive

Moody's Investors Service said it changed Owens & Minor, Inc.'s outlook to positive from stable, and affirmed its Ba2 corporate family and probability-of-default ratings and the Ba2 rating (LGD4, 50%) on the $200 million senior unsecured notes due 2016.

The outlook revision reflects improvements in the company's operating margins and credit metrics, and expectation that these improvements will be sustained as well as strong free cash flow generation in recent periods, according to the agency.

The Ba2 corporate family rating reflects the company's low leverage with debt-to-EBITDA ratio less than 2.0 times, good interest coverage, its business position as a leading national distributor to the acute-care market, long operating history, its historical ability to grow organic sales in a mature industry, improvements in operating margins, and success integrating large-scale acquisitions over the past few years, Moody's said.

The rating also considers the company's small scale, customer concentration, narrow operating margins, pressure on organic growth, the competitive nature of the medical distribution industry and ongoing acquisition risk, the agency noted.

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