Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' ratings on Crown Holdings Inc. reflect its satisfactory business risk profile as a leading global can manufacturer (with trailing-12-month sales of $8.5 billion) and its significant financial risk profile. The company's business strengths include its market position among a handful of global leaders in metal packaging and its extensive international operations, including good positions in emerging markets with favorable long-term growth prospects. Crown also has greater customer diversity than most of its peers. In addition, metal packaging producers benefit from fairly stable demand because most of their business is related to the food and beverage industry. They also benefit from a relatively consolidated industry structure and timely contractual pass-through of raw material costs to customers.
