Fitch lowers Qurate

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded Qurate Retail, Inc.'s, Liberty Interactive LLC's and QVC Inc.'s long-term issuer default ratings to BB- from BB. The agency also trimmed QVC's senior secured debt to BB+/RR1 from BBB-/RR1, Liberty's senior unsecured debt to BB-/RR4 from BB/RR4 and Qurate's cumulative redeemable preferred shares to B+/RR5 from BB-/RR5.

“The downgrades are driven by significant weakness in Qurate's operating performance due to supply chain and macroeconomic issues, exacerbated by the loss of its Rocky Mount fulfillment center. Although Fitch views Qurate's recent capital structure changes positively, execution and expense management challenges are expected to continue to be a near-term drag,” the agency said in a press release.

The outlook is stable.

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