S&P lowers True Temper

Standard & Poor's said it lowered its corporate credit and senior secured bank loan ratings on True Temper Sports Inc. to B from B+. S&P also lowered True Temper's subordinated debt rating to CCC+ from B-.

S&P said the downgrade reflects the company's lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings, its revised earnings guidance, its increased leverage and its elevated inventory levels. Because of these operating challenges, S&P said it believes that True Temper will take longer than previously expected to reduce its debt.

The outlook is negative.

True Temper suffered weaker performance in the second quarter as its customers delayed the launch of several new products requiring its equipment, S&P said. In addition, graphite shaft sales decreased, and a product mix shift away from premium steel shafts to lower priced steel shafts caused a slight decrease in the company's average unit selling price, further weakening results.

Total lease-adjusted debt to EBITDA has increased to more than 7x, compared with 3.8x last year.

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