ConAgra cuts debt load by $554 million, plans further debt reductions

By Devika Patel

Knoxville, Tenn., Sept. 29 – ConAgra Foods Inc. paid down over $500 million of debt in the just-completed quarter and plans to continue to reduce its borrowings and maintain its investment-grade rating.

“For the quarter, we paid down approximately $554 million of long-term debt,” the company’s new executive vice president and chief financial officer David Marberger said in a conference call on Thursday to discuss the company’s results for the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 28.

“We’ve continued to remain committed to an investment-grade credit rating and a capital allocation strategy appropriately balanced between further debt reduction, a top tier dividend, share repurchases and additional growth investments.”

The company ended the first quarter with $795 million of cash on hand and no outstanding commercial paper borrowings, Marberger said. At fiscal year-end on May 29, ConAgra had cash and cash equivalents of about $835 million and senior long-term debt of $4.72 billion.

ConAgra is a commercial and consumer foods company based in Omaha, Neb.

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