The rating on Philadelphia-based Crown Holdings Inc. reflects the company's satisfactory business risk profile, characterized by market leadership, global operations, and relative earnings stability. Nevertheless, the financial profile remains aggressive, and the company continues to face risks associated with asbestos litigation. Crown is primarily a metal container manufacturer with annual sales of about $8 billion. Crown is the largest global producer of metal food cans and aerosol cans, the second-largest producer of metal vacuum closures in the world, and the third-largest global producer of metal beverage cans. These markets tend to be fairly stable through the business cycle because of the recession-resistant nature of many of the end uses and high industry concentration among producers. The company benefits from a
