Moody’s upgrades rating on Brunswick

Posted on 25 May 2010

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Moody's Investors Service revised Brunswick Corp.'s rating outlook Monday to stable from negative because of "our expectation that its credit risk profile will not deteriorate further and may, in fact, improve over the near to midterm."

"We believe Brunswick's strong liquidity profile, improved cost structure, enhanced health of its dealership network and increased wholesale shipments should enable it to maintain its current credit profile, even if retail demand in 2010 declines more than the 10 percent the company is currently planning for and despite the burgeoning sovereign debt crisis," said Kevin Cassidy, senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service, in a statement.

"If retail demand were to approximate the company's planning assumption rather than the 20 percent decline experienced in the first quarter and worldwide financial markets stabilize, Brunswick's credit profile could improve in the near term," he added.

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that retail demand in 2010 will not materially decline beyond its current pace in the near term, despite an expectation of modest discretionary consumer spending, and that revenue and operating income will steadily improve.

Comments

2 Tuesday, 25 May 2010 17:19

Brunswick has done a lot of the right things to right-size their company for lower volumes. They still have some issues they need to work through but seem to me to be on the right track. What Moody's says is just about irrelevant based upon their recent track record.

1 Tuesday, 25 May 2010 16:29

Don't bet the ranch on it! Just remember that Moodys and S&P are the same rating agencies that told you all the mortgage backed securities and toxic mortgage bonds were AAA when they were really dreck! A healthy dose of cynicism could go a long way here. Remember what Ronald Reagan said "Trust but verify."

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