Research Update: NMHG Holding Co. Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Revised To Stable

On Feb. 1, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its ratings on Portland, Ore.-based forklift truck manufacturer NMHG Holding Co., including the 'BB-' corporate credit rating on the company. At the same time, we revised our outlook to stable from negative. At Sept. 30, 2005, the company had approximately $469 million of total debt outstanding. The outlook revision reflects our opinion that NMHG's profitability should meaningfully improve in 2006 as the company fully achieves the benefits of pricing actions, as well as continued volume strength and lower new product implementation costs. Because of these improvements, we believe NMHG's prospective credit profile will be consistent with our expectations at the current ratings level. The speculative-grade ratings reflect NMHG's aggressive financial

...On Feb. 1, 2006, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its ratings on Portland, Ore.-based forklift truck manufacturer NMHG Holding Co., including the '##-' corporate credit rating on the company. At the same time, we revised our outlook to stable from negative. At Sept. 30, 2005, the company had approximately $469 million of total debt outstanding. The outlook revision reflects our opinion that NMHG's profitability should meaningfully improve in 2006 as the company fully achieves the benefits of pricing actions, as well as continued volume strength and lower new product implementation costs. Because of these improvements, we believe NMHG's prospective credit profile will be consistent with our expectations at the current ratings level. The speculative-grade ratings reflect NMHG's aggressive financial risk profile, fair liquidity, and weak business risk profile assessment, reflecting the company's leading positions within cyclical and volatile markets. NMHG competes in the global...

Research Update