S&P changes Duane Reade's outlook

Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on Duane Reade to negative from stable and affirmed its BB- corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings and its B subordinated notes rating.

The outlook revision follows Duane Reade's announcement that sales and profits were weaker than expected in the second quarter of 2003.

"Standard & Poor's believes the company's operating performance will be under pressure for the remainder of 2003 due to the high level of unemployment in the New York metropolitan area, and that credit protection measures will fall below 2002's level," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Diane Shand.

In the first quarter of 2003, EBITDA coverage of interest declined to 1.7x from 1.8x on a year-over-year basis. Leverage is high, with total debt to EBITDA at 6.3x. Debt reduction is expected to be low for the next few years because internally generated cash is being used to fund growth.

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