Fitch affirms IBM

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed International Business Machines Corp. and IBM International Group Capital LLC's long-term issuer default rating at A+, senior unsecured credit debt at A+ and short-term issuer default rating at F1.

The outlook is stable.

Ratings reflect IBM's solid credit protection measures, significant liquidity supported by a solid cash position and strong and consistent free cash flow, considerable recurring revenue, highly diverse customer base as well as breadth and quality of product and service offerings, according to the agency.

Concerns include risk of core debt non-financing increases to achieve financial and business objectives; consistent, material increases in cash dividends long term; and increase in legally mandated cash pension contributions to IBM's worldwide defined benefit pension plan, the agency noted.

Fitch said it estimates total debt-to-operating EBITDA ratio at 1.4 times as of March 31, down from 1.7x in the prior year.

© 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.