S&P affirms Coca-Cola

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its ratings on Coca-Cola Co., including the A+ long-term corporate credit and A-1 short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings.

At the same time, S&P revised the outlook to positive from stable, reflecting Coke's strong operating performance and sustained credit measures despite lingering weak macroeconomic conditions.

"The outlook revision to positive reflects our expectation that we could raise Coke's corporate credit and other ratings during the outlook period, based on our belief that the company's financial profile will continue to strengthen," said S&P credit analyst Jean Stout in a news release.

"We believe if Coke is able to achieve annual revenue growth in the low- to mid-single-digit range even with its EBITDA margin continuing to be somewhat pressured by lower-margin bottling operations, its ongoing strong cash flow will enable the company to sustain credit measures that support a higher rating."

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