S&P affirms Swift

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its BB- corporate credit rating, BB senior secured debt rating, B+ senior unsecured debt rating and B subordinated debt rating on Swift & Co. and removed them from CreditWatch.

The outlook is negative.

S&P said the rating action follows the completion of S&P's review of the meat processing industry following the announcement on Dec. 23, 2003 of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as mad cow disease. To date, there has been some affect on Swift in terms of operating and financial performance and a related impact on credit protection measures.

The ratings on Swift reflect the company's high debt levels for a commodity-oriented, low-margin protein processor that operates in a very challenging environment. These concerns are somewhat mitigated by Swift's No. 3 positions in both the U.S. beef and pork processing industries, its diverse customer base, and the high barriers to entry in these industries.

© 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.