The rating on St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Jabil Circuit Inc. reflects the company's diversified end markets and higher profitability than the majority of its peers, offset by competitive industry conditions, strained cash flow over the past three quarters, and leverage that is high for the rating. Jabil is a leading provider of electronics manufacturing services to such leading OEMs as Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Nokia Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co. Jabil had about $1.8 billion in total debt outstanding, including operating leases, pension adjustments, and securitizations, at May 2007. Revenues for the May quarter improved 16% over the year-ago period, including the recently acquired Green Point operation. The company's growth rate has slowed steadily over the past three quarters from its 36%
