S&P affirms Ford

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its B long-term corporate credit and other ratings on Ford Motor Co. and Ford Motor Credit Co. and removed them from CreditWatch with positive implications, where they were placed Sept. 26.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said that the CreditWatch placement resulted from the announcement that General Motors Corp. had reached a contract agreement with its main labor union, the United Auto Workers, and it expected Ford to reach a similar agreement.

According to the agency, Ford reached a largely similar agreement that caused it to review the company's rating and outlook, and Ford's contract was ratified by UAW members last week.

"The rating affirmation reflects our view that Ford's new contract is a substantial long-term positive for the company's turnaround efforts in North America," said S&P credit analyst Robert Schulz, "but that a number of challenges remain in 2008 and 2009 before cost savings from the contract arrive in earnest."

© 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.