On July 1, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Portland, Ore.-based Precision Castparts Corp. to positive from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings, including the 'BBB-' corporate credit rating, on the company. About $1 billion of debt is outstanding. The outlook revision is based on solid operating performance and expectations that the financial profile will continue to strengthen. Stabilization of the commercial aerospace market, successful integration of SPS Technologies Inc. (acquired in December 2003), and efforts to improve efficiency are likely to increase free cash flow, to be applied largely to debt reduction. As a result, financial flexibility should be enhanced, with funds from operations to debt and debt to capital
