...+ We are affirming our ratings on Lunenburg, N.S.-based High Liner Foods Inc., including our 'B+' long-term corporate credit rating. + We are revising our financial risk profile to "aggressive" from "significant" to reflect our expectation that High Liner will maintain leverage in the 4x-5x range over the next year or two, as the company aims to boost EBITDA by integrating recent acquisitions and through supply-chain optimization. + At the same time, we are revising our financial policy modifier to "neutral" from "negative" to reflect the company's strategy to reduce leverage to below 4x to build financial capacity before undertaking further debt-funded acquisitions. + The stable outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectation that the company will maintain adjusted debt to EBITDA of 4x-5x and EBITDA interest coverage above 5x in the next year or two, as it aims to reduce costs while integrating recent acquisitions that should preserve its good position in the North American value-added...
