S&P upgrades Refresco

Standard & Poor’s said it raised the long-term corporate credit rating on Refresco Gerber NV to BB from B+.

The outlook is stable.

The upgrade follows Refresco Gerber’s successful initial public offering and refinancing, after which it reduced its overall debt burden and publicly committed to a less leveraged financial structure, S&P said.

Refresco Gerber used €91 million of net proceeds from the IPO and cash to repay €100 million of its €660 million debt, the agency said.

It refinanced the remaining debt with a new €522 million term loan due 2020, resulting in an improvement in debt-protection metrics, S&P said.

The company has a fair business risk profile, reflecting its high exposure to volatile commodity-based raw material prices, limited pricing flexibility due to its focus on private label products and geographic concentration in mature , the agency said.

These weaknesses are partly offset by the group’s scale, as well as the success of its product development and sales strategies pursued by a well-established management team, S&P said.

© 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.