Whole Foods announced earlier this month that it was seeking to raise $1 billion in a debt offering. The company said it intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including an authorization to repurchase up to $1 billion in its stock.
Standard and Poor's (S&P) assigned a "BBB" rating to the offering, the agency's lowest rung of investment-grade credit, and it assigned a negative outlook on Whole Foods' corporate credit rating. S&P cited challenges related to increased competition and pricing in the organic space. The agency added that Whole Foods could be downgraded if its pricing investments fail to boost sales.
Showing posts with label Standard and Poors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Standard and Poors. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Whole Foods reports "best results in history"
Last week Whole Foods Market reported another outstanding quarter, "producing the best results in our company's 32-year history," according to Co-CEO John Mackey.
For the quarter ended April 8, 2012, Whole Foods reported a profit of $117.7 million, a 31% increase over the same quarter last year. They also reported the following:
Although the natural and organic foods sold by Whole Foods tend to be more expensive than the groceries at traditional supermarkets, its sales have continued to grow, which has helped shield the company from higher food costs. At the same time, Whole Foods has been trying to come across as more value-oriented in order to attract more price-conscious shoppers.
The company's continued success has resulted in a "positive" outlook from Standard & Poor's.
For the quarter ended April 8, 2012, Whole Foods reported a profit of $117.7 million, a 31% increase over the same quarter last year. They also reported the following:
- Sales up 14% to $2.67 billion
- Gross margin widened to 36.3% from 35.6%
- Same store sales up 9.5%
Although the natural and organic foods sold by Whole Foods tend to be more expensive than the groceries at traditional supermarkets, its sales have continued to grow, which has helped shield the company from higher food costs. At the same time, Whole Foods has been trying to come across as more value-oriented in order to attract more price-conscious shoppers.
The company's continued success has resulted in a "positive" outlook from Standard & Poor's.
Monday, March 26, 2012
A&P gets B- rating from S&P
In assigning newly reorganized and private company A&P a B- credit rating and negative outlook last week, Standard and Poor's said the company should be able to maintain adequate liquidity and improve its overall performance in the coming years, but will still lag competitors' operating metrics and be vulnerable to sales declines and a slow economy.
S&P projected sales for A&P, which recently emerged from federal bankruptcy, to improve by 2-3% in 2013. However, S&P also said that "even in our most optimistic expected performance scenarios, we would expect the company's credit ratios to remain in line with indicative ratios of highly leveraged financial risk profiles."
S&P projected sales for A&P, which recently emerged from federal bankruptcy, to improve by 2-3% in 2013. However, S&P also said that "even in our most optimistic expected performance scenarios, we would expect the company's credit ratios to remain in line with indicative ratios of highly leveraged financial risk profiles."
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