NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 14, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the ratings and outlook on Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (BBB-/Negative/--) are currently unaffected by the company's weak third-quarter 2008 operating results. North America macroeconomic conditions and higher commodity costs negatively affected operating performance. Still, the company repaid $295 million of bank debt from free cash flows during the third quarter, ahead of our expectations. Dr Pepper Snapple had adequate liquidity with almost $240 million of cash and cash equivalents as of Sept. 30, 2008 and substantial availability under its $500 million revolving credit facility, with sufficient covenant cushion. Although management expects to continue to improve the company's financial profile over the intermediate term in
