S&P downgrades Utz Quality Foods

S&P said it lowered Utz Quality Foods LLC's issuer credit rating to B- from B, senior secured first-lien term loan rating to B- from B and senior secured second-lien term loan rating to CCC from CCC+.

The operating performance of Utz in fiscal 2018 was well below expectations due to significant sales shortfalls at its recently acquired subsidiary Inventure Foods Inc., S&P said.

The agency said it expects mixed demand trends with top customers will continue in 2019.

Margins will remain pressured due to elevated commodity and freight costs and further restructuring charges, the agency said.

The stable outlook reflects an expectation that the company will curb its revenue declines and begin seeing sequential quarterly improvements beginning in the second half of 2019, Moody's 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.