Standard&Poor's Rating Services' low speculative-grade rating on Houston-based Carriage Services Inc. reflects the company's weak business risk profile. This is mainly because of the company's narrow focus in the highly fragmented and mature death care industry, which is the long-term predictability of the funeral home and cemetery business only partly mitigates. The rating also reflects the persistence of the company's highly leveraged financial position as it continues to acquire smaller competitors. We expect, in light of the slow-growth trends of the death care industry and more cost conscious consumers, mid-to-single-digit revenue growth that should contribute to modest improvement in EBITDA margins in 2011. The company's weak business risk profile reflects a fragmented industry, which for the last several
