S&P lifts Waste Management

Standard & Poor's said it raised the long-term corporate credit rating on Waste Management Inc. to A- from BBB.

The agency also said it raised the rating on all related issue-level ratings on the company's long-term debt by two notches in conjunction with the upgrade.

The short-term rating of A-2 remains unchanged.

The ratings also were removed from CreditWatch, where it was placed with positive implications in November.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said it based the upgrade primarily on a reassessment of the competitive position for Waste Management, S&P said.

The analysis indicated that the company demonstrated stable profitability over a long period of time, which leads to a more favorable assessment of profitability, the agency said.

However, S&P said it does not view the volatility of the company's profitability as being so low as to warrant the use of the low volatility table in determining the ratings.

Solid waste services in competitive markets are still subject to cyclical swings, S&P said, so the standard volatility table is used in assessing the company's profitability.

Recently, the company took steps to improve its operating efficiency and reduced its selling, general and administrative expenses, the agency said. This resulted in better profitability in recent quarters, S&P said.

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