We think Sweden-based capital goods group Sandvik's credit protection measures will continue to improve over 2018 on the back of continued strong operating performance and disposal proceeds used for continued debt reduction. We consequently believe Sandvik is well positioned to sustain its strong credit ratios over the near to medium term. We are therefore revising our outlook on Sandvik to positive from stable, and affirming our 'BBB+/A-2' and 'K-1' ratings. The positive outlook indicates that we could raise the ratings if Sandvik sustained its strong credit ratios over the next two years, with funds from operations to debt above 60% and discretionary cash flow to debt above 25%, assuming other factors are unchanged. On April 18, 2018, S&P Global Ratings
