Barry Callebaut AG /
Standard & Poor's upgrades Barry Callebaut to investment grade
. Verarbeitet und übermittelt durch Thomson Reuters ONE.
Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent verantwortlich. Upgraded rating from BB+ to BBB- * Standard & Poor's assigned a BBB- rating to Barry Callebaut AGZurich/Switzerland, December 13, 2011 - Barry Callebaut, the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, announced that today
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P), one of the most important providers of
credit ratings, assigned a BBB- credit rating to Barry Callebaut AG, up from
BB+. The rating's outlook is stable. Standard & Poor's also upgraded Barry
Callebaut's unsecured bonds and revolving credit facility to BBB-.Standard and Poor's upgrade to investment grade reflects Barry Callebaut's
proven track record and improved financial metrics showing consistency and
sustainability over time, also in challenging market environments with volatile
raw material prices. The new rating is maintained by the company's diversified
product and geographic position, alongside its cost-plus pricing model, which
enables Barry Callebaut to pass on price increases in raw material prices to its
customers, as well as the steady levels of demand from its broad customer base.Victor Balli, CFO of Barry Callebaut, said: "After having received investment
grade by Moody's in May this year, the upgrade of Standard & Poor's marks
another important achievement for our company. Our balance sheet and cash flow
discipline as well as the constant strengthening of our financial metrics over
the past years helped us to reach this goal." ***Barry Callebaut (www.barry-callebaut.com):
With annual sales of about CHF 4.6 billion (EUR 3.6 billion/USD 5.0 billion) for
fiscal year 2010/11, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate - from the cocoa bean to the
finished chocolate product. Barry Callebaut is present in 27 countries, operates
around 40 production facilities and employs a diverse and dedicated workforce of
about 6,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry focusing on
industrial food manufacturers, artisans and professional users of chocolate
(such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), the latter with its two global
brands Callebaut(®) and Cacao Barry(®). Barry Callebaut is the global leader in
cocoa and chocolate innovations and provides a comprehensive range of services
in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing. Cost
leadership is another important reason why global as well as local food
manufacturers work together with Barry Callebaut. Through its broad range of
sustainability initiatives and research activities, the company works with
farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future supplies
of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. ***Contacts for investors and financial analysts: for the media: Victor Balli Raphael Wermuth CFO External Communications Manager Barry Callebaut AG Barry Callebaut AG Phone: +41 43 204 04 20 Phone: +41 43 204 04 58 victor_balli@barry-callebaut.com raphael_wermuth@barry-callebaut.comThe news release can be downloaded from the following link:
--- Ende der Mitteilung --- Barry Callebaut AG
Postfach Zürich SchweizWKN: 914661;ISIN: CH0009002962;
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Source: Barry Callebaut AG via Thomson Reuters ONE[HUG#1571011]
