Ethan Allen, Leggett & Platt get downgraded debt ratings
Changes reflect negative business outlook
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, November 14, 2008
NEW YORK — Bond rating agencies have cut the debt ratings of industry stalwarts Ethan Allen and Leggett & Platt, according to reports.
The Associated Press said Standard & Poor's Rating Services lowered manufacturer and retailer Ethan Allen's bond rating from BBB+ to BBB-, which is one notch above junk status. S&P also said the company's outlook is negative, citing its weak operating results in recent quarters.
In its most recent quarter, Ethan Allen posted a profit of $7.4 million, down 58% from the same quarter a year earlier, as sales declined 17% to $205.8 million.
Leggett reported that Moody's Investor Service downgraded the company's long-term debt rating from A2 to A3 and its commercial paper rating from P1 to P2, citing lower consumer spending in the residential and automotive markets. Moody's also assigned a negative outlook to the ratings.
Standard & Poor's rates the company's long-term debt A and its commercial paper A1, and has had a negative outlook on the company since the fourth quarter of 2007, Leggett said.
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