International Flavors&Fragrances Inc.'s (IFF) recent and projected operating performance has weakened. As a result, the company received lender consent for an amendment to loosen its maximum debt-to-EBITDA covenant. While we believe the company is still committed to debt reduction and working toward its 3x leverage target, the covenant amendment signals that its deleveraging path may be slower than we previously expected. We affirmed our 'BBB-' issuer credit rating on IFF and revised the outlook to negative from stable. The negative outlook indicates that we could lower the ratings over the next two years if we believe the company will not be able to reduce leverage to and sustain it in the low-4x area because of operating challenges or
