...August 27, 2019 - U.S.-based The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. overcame several headwinds including inflation, disruptions in the hydroponics business, and unfavorable media coverage of Roundup herbicide litigation. - We expect the lawn-and-garden company will report a material improvement in credit statistics for fiscal 2019 (ending Sept. 30), including adjusted leverage below 3.5x. - We are affirming all of our ratings on Scotts, including our '##' issuer credit rating and 'B+' senior unsecured notes rating, and revising the outlook to stable from negative. The recovery rating on the notes remains '6', indicating that creditors could expect negligible (0%-10%; rounded estimate: 0%) recovery in the event of a payment default. - The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Scotts will maintain moderate momentum in the core U.S. consumer business (subject to fair weather conditions), continue to invest in the higher-growth hydroponics sector, and increase shareholder returns in 2020 while managing...
