S&P downgrades Ricoh

S&P said it lowered the long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Ricoh Co. Ltd. and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Ricoh Finance Corp., to A- from A.

The agency also said it lowered the short-term corporate credit and commercial-paper ratings on Ricoh and Ricoh Finance to A-2 from A-1.

The outlook is negative.

The downgrades reflect a view that Ricoh’s competitive advantage has been weakening and its profitability has been falling, mainly owing to saturation of the office copier and MFP market and intensifying competition, S&P said.

Based on this, the agency said it believes the company’s profitability is unlikely to recover to a level that is commensurate with an A rating.

Ricoh’s market position and competitive advantage have been weakening because the company has been slow to respond to changes in the market, S&P said.

The company’s profitability also is expected to remain weak in fiscal 2016, the agency added.

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