US708160BS43 7,4, PENNEY -JC- CO. 2037 80/83 non mi ricordo chi lo ha segnalato, comunque:
S&P, Fitch Downgrade J.C. Penney One Notch
02/28/2013| 04:05pm US/Eastern
Both Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings lowered their credit ratings on J.C. Penney Co. (>> J.C. Penney Company, Inc.) by a notch after the department-store retailer reported its worst loss of 2012.
On Wednesday, the retailer posted a fourth-quarter loss of $552 million as sales fell 28% and margins continued to weaken. Results fell short of Wall Street estimates, sending the stock lower.
S&P lowered J.C. Penney's rating to triple-C-plus, seven steps into junk territory, from B-minus. Fitch Ratings downgraded the retailer to B-minus, one step above S&P's rating, from B. Both firms have a negative outlook on J.C. Penney.
Both firms said J.C. Penney will need to tap into additional funding, straining its sources of liquidity.
J.C. Penney's "extremely weak" results were below S&P's expectations and the firm now views the company's liquidity position as "less than adequate."
S&P said its negative outlook reflects its view that performance will weaken further over the next 12 months. It also said J.C. Penney is likely to experience further operational disruptions over the next several quarters as it further refines its new pricing and merchandising strategy. Customer traffic will also probably remain negative.
Meanwhile, Fitch said it remains unclear whether J.C. Penney's new shops and merchandise offerings can offset continued declines in the nonshops business.
The jury remains out on whether J.C. Penney has done some irrevocable damage or whether it can begin to stabilize its core revenue base and sustainably improve profitability of its business beginning the first quarter of 2013," Fitch wrote.
Moody's Investors Service said J.C. Penney's B3 rating, on par with Fitch's rating, remained unchanged. Overall, the results largely met Moody's low expectations.
J.C. Penney is in the midst of a sweeping transformation effort under former Apple Inc. (>> Apple Inc.) retail executive Ron Johnson to make it more competitive with rivals like Macy's Inc. (M) and Kohl's Corp. (>> Kohl's Corporation). The company has shifted its strategy from steady promotions to offering low prices every day; however that strategy has hurt customer visits and sales in recent periods. Mr. Johnson, who joined J.C. Penney as CEO in 2011, has also been emphasizing brand names in boutiques within J.C. Penney's stores.
Shares of the retailer closed at $17.57. The stock is down 58% over the past 12 months.
Write to Debbie Cai at
[email protected]
J.C. Penney Rating Lowered To 'CCC+' From 'B-'; Outlook Negative
Publication date: 28-Feb-2013 20:11:58 GMT
View Analyst Contact Information
U.S. retailer J.C. Penney Co. Inc.'s fourth-quarter and year-to-date
results remain extremely weak and were below our expectations.
We now view the company's liquidity position as "less than adequate"
based on our view that the company will need to draw substantially on its
revolver to fund operations, or seek additional financing to continue its
transformation.
We are lowering our corporate credit rating on the company to 'CCC+' from
'B-'.
The negative rating outlook reflects our view that performance will
weaken further over the next 12 months, resulting in a diminished
liquidity position.
NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 28, 2013--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
today lowered its corporate credit rating on Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney
Co. Inc. to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. The outlook is negative.
At the same time, we lowered the issue-level rating on the company's unsecured
debt to 'CCC+' from 'B-' and maintained our '3' recovery rating on this debt,
indicating our expectation of meaningful (50% to 70%) recovery for debtholders
in the event of a payment default.
"The downgrade reflects the performance erosion that has accelerated
throughout the previous year and seems likely to persist over the next 12
months," explained Standard & Poor's credit analyst David Kuntz.
As a result, the company's credit protection measures have eroded meaningfully
because of the decline in EBITDA. It also reflects our assessment that the
company's liquidity position is "less than adequate" and that J.C. Penney will
need to seek additional financing or borrow substantially on its revolving
credit facility to continue its transformation. In our opinion, the company is
likely to experience further operational disruptions over the next several
quarters as it further refines its new pricing and merchandising strategy.
The rating on Penney reflects Standard & Poor's assessment that the company's
business risk profile is "vulnerable" and its financial risk profile is
"highly leveraged." Our business risk assessment incorporates our analysis
that the department store industry is highly competitive, with large,
well-established participants. Based on this environment, it is our view that
further performance difficulties may result in the loss of market share to
other players, such as Macy's, Kohl's Corp., Sears, other department stores,
or off-price retailers.
Over the next 12 months, we expect Penney to experience further operational
disruptions as it refines its strategy. We believe that customer traffic is
likely to remain negative, thus resulting in weaker revenue performance.
We assess Penney's financial risk profile as "highly leveraged," as credit
protection measures have deteriorated over the past year because of
performance declines. Debt to EBITDA increased to about 23x at Feb. 2, 2013,
from 3.9x for the prior period in 2012. Interest coverage fell to 0.6x from
3.7x, and funds from operations (FFO) to total debt slid to about (12)% from
17%. We expect that credit protection measures are likely to remain in line
with current levels over the next 12 months.
Sui 65/70 un ingresso ci potrebbe stare, vediamo come reagisce il bond ai downgrade, considerando che ieri l'azione faceva -15%...
