Moody's cuts A.M. Castle, notes to Caa1

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded A.M. Castle & Co.'s corporate family rating to Caa1 from B3, its probability of default rating to Caa1-PD from B3-PD and the rating on Castle's $225 million senior secured notes to Caa1 from B3.

The speculative grade liquidity rating was affirmed at SGL-3.

The outlook is stable.

Moody's said the downgrade of Castle's ratings reflects the company's weaker than expected operating results and credit metrics, which are attributable to lower shipment volumes and relatively depressed product prices.

The decline in shipments has been driven by lackluster demand in the company's mining, heavy equipment, oil and gas and aerospace end markets, which have all softened in 2013.

It also appears the company has lost market share as industry conditions have become highly competitive and it has been focused on cost cutting, inventory management and efficiency improvement initiatives, the agency said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.