CHICAGO (S&P Global Ratings) Sept. 26, 2019—S&P Global Ratings said today that the performance of Conagra Brands Inc. in the fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 25, 2019 largely met our expectations, which included modestly weaker adjusted EBITDA and a slight uptick in sequential pro forma adjusted leverage to about 5.1x from 5.0x. While these results were better than many investors had expected, and we think that the company's prospects could improve in the second half of fiscal 2020, Conagra still faces challenges that if unaddressed could pose a threat to credit quality—though we presently see credit quality as essentially unchanged. Conagra's total organic sales fell 1.7% in the first quarter, and overall results were weighed down by poor innovation and
