The ratings reflect Boston-based Iron Mountain Inc.'s high debt leverage, history of debt-financed acquisitions, and aggressive financial policies, as well as the capital intensity of the records storage business. These factors are offset partially by Iron Mountain's leading position as the world's largest records management company and by its fairly stable growth from existing and new customer accounts. Iron Mountain's operating performance has been steady. Organic revenue growth has averaged a high-single-digit rate for several years. For 2008, Iron Mountain projects an organic growth rate of 7%-9%, which Standard&Poor's Ratings Services believes the company can achieve. Iron Mountain's revenues are relatively recession-resistant because of low customer attrition, a diverse client base, and annual and multiyear contracts that provide
