Loblaw Cos. Ltd. 'BBB' Issuer Credit Rating Affirmed; Outlook Stable

Brampton, Ont.-based Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (Loblaw) continues to sustain its revenues and EBITDA growth such that its debt-to-EBITDA ratio (on an S&P Global Ratings' adjusted basis) strengthened to 2.1x as of last 12 months to March 25, 2023, and we expect the debt-to-EBITDA ratio will remain at about 2.0x over the next 24 months. Although we expect the Canadian retail landscape will remain highly competitive, with challenging macroeconomic conditions, we expect the company will sustain strong free cash flows and return them to shareholders. As a result, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BBB' issuer credit rating on Loblaw, as well as its 'BBB' issue-level rating on the company's senior unsecured notes and its 'BB+' global scale and 'P-3(High)' Canadian scale

...May 18, 2023 - Brampton, Ont.-based Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (Loblaw) continues to sustain its revenues and EBITDA growth such that its debt-to-EBITDA ratio (on an S&P Global Ratings' adjusted basis) strengthened to 2.1x as of last 12 months to March 25, 2023, and we expect the debt-to-EBITDA ratio will remain at about 2.0x over the next 24 months. - Although we expect the Canadian retail landscape will remain highly competitive, with challenging macroeconomic conditions, we expect the company will sustain strong free cash flows and return them to shareholders. - As a result, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its '###' issuer credit rating on Loblaw, as well as its '###' issue-level rating on the company's senior unsecured notes and its '##+' global scale and 'P-3(High)' Canadian scale ratings on the company's preferred shares. - Our rating on Loblaw, which is considered a core member of the George Weston Ltd. (GWL) group, is limited by our assessment of GWL's group credit profile (GCP). We expect Loblaw...

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