...MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) May 7, 2015--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said that Woolworths Ltd.'s strategic update and sales results for the third-quarter ended March 31, 2015, have no immediate impact on the 'A-' rating or stable outlook on the company. We consider Woolworths' strategic plans to address underperformance across its businesses to be supportive of the group's credit profile. Importantly however, we consider that competitive pressures in the Australian supermarket industry---from both full-line and discount operators--pose material challenges to the group in effectively executing a near-term return to satisfactory sales and earnings growth. Accordingly, although Woolworths has a strong base from which to implement its strategic plans, uncertainties exist regarding the extent of price and cost reinvestment required to achieve these objectives. We also note that in the event that satisfactory sales and earnings growth cannot be achieved in a timely manner, it could...
