On Aug. 31, 2004, Standard&Poor's Rating Services revised its outlook on Cott to positive from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BB' long-term corporate credit and 'B+' subordinated debt ratings on Toronto, Ont.-based Cott Corp. Total debt outstanding was about US$362 million at July 3, 2004. The outlook revision reflected the company's improving financial profile, operating performance, and credit protection measures for the 12 months ended July 3, 2004, despite a challenging competitive environment. The ratings on Cott reflect its below-average business profile stemming from a narrow product portfolio, customer concentration, limited manufacturing capacity, and small size in a sector dominated by companies with substantially greater financial resources. These factors are partially offset by
