Fitch rates Waterford notes CCC+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned Waterford Wedgwood plc ratings of senior unsecured B-, senior secured B+ and short-term B. At the same time, the agency has assigned Waterford Wedgwood's €165 million 9.875% mezzanine notes due 2010 a CCC+ rating.

The outlook is stable.

Fitch said the senior unsecured rating reflects the dramatic decline in Waterford Wedgwood's financial performance during the financial year to March 31, 2004, with EBITDA excluding disposals falling to €62 million from €104 million and Fitch's expectation that financial year 2005 performance will show little improvement.

Despite a series of restructuring programs, Waterford's profitability has declined since 2001 due to weak consumer demand, the negative impact of foreign exchange and industry overcapacity. These conditions are likely to persist for the remainder of fiscal 2005, which could result in further margin pressure. However, the liquidity provided by the recently agreed €40 million subordinated facility and the absence of debt amortization payments provides headroom to achieve improvements in cash flow generation in the short term.

© 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.