Research Update: WestRock Co. Outlook Revised To Stable From Negative On Sizeable Debt Repayment, 'BBB' Issuer Credit Rating Affirmed

WestRock Co. has paid down a sizeable portion of its debt (approximately $1.27 billion over the past year) amid the coronavirus pandemic. Over the next 12 months, we expect the company's business prospects and operating performance to improve as the broader economy continues to re-emerge from the pandemic-related shutdowns and it realizes the benefits from its recent price increases during the second half of fiscal year 2021, supporting further improvement in credit metrics. Therefore, we revised our outlook on WestRock to stable from negative and affirmed our 'BBB' issuer credit rating. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that a continued rebound in the broader macroeconomic environment, combined with the company's recent price increases, will likely enable WestRock to maintain debt

...- WestRock Co. has paid down a sizeable portion of its debt (approximately $1.27 billion over the past year) amid the coronavirus pandemic. - Over the next 12 months, we expect the company's business prospects and operating performance to improve as the broader economy continues to re-emerge from the pandemic-related shutdowns and it realizes the benefits from its recent price increases during the second half of fiscal year 2021, supporting further improvement in credit metrics. - Therefore, we revised our outlook on WestRock to stable from negative and affirmed our '###' issuer credit rating. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that a continued rebound in the broader macroeconomic environment, combined with the company's recent price increases, will likely enable WestRock to maintain debt leverage of between 3x and 4x over the next 12 months....

Research Update