New York, December 06, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service maintains the following ratings on Rockwell
Automation, Inc.:
Senior Unsecured (domestic currency) ratings of A3
Commercial Paper (domestic currency) ratings of P-2
RATINGS RATIONALE
The A3 long-term and P-2 short term ratings reflect the
company's competitive profile, large installed base of equipment
and long-term growth prospects. They also incorporate consistent
free cash flow, strong liquidity, modest leverage and a beneficial
debt maturity profile. The ratings further consider the volatility
of Rockwell's performance over time which arises from the cyclical
nature of expenditures on industrial automation equipment. Revenue
drivers of productivity initiatives, safety requirements and capacity
expansion present favorable long-term trends, but during
periods of economic weakness, when corporations contend with lower
utilization rates, capital expenditures can be significantly curtailed.
With the return of more favorable macro conditions in 2011, higher
volumes along with an improved cost base have lifted earnings, particularly
as much of the growth has occurred in the company's stronger margin
Architecture & Software segment (roughly 43% of revenues but
nearly 64% of segment operating profits in fiscal 2011).
Profitability in its Control Products & Solutions segment has also
rebounded, but its margins remain below peak levels of 2005-2008.
Rockwell's funded indebtedness of some $0.9 billion is relatively
modest, but Moody's adjustments for under-funded pension
liabilities and operating leases noticeably affect leverage and coverage
metrics (total adjusted debt is roughly $2.5 billion).
Rockwell has a strong liquidity profile supported by large cash balances
in comparison to funded debt levels, substantial back-up
credit facilities and expectations of sustained free cash flow.
All of these factors provide financial flexibility to manage through cycles
as well as reasonable capacity to fund acquisitions and returns to shareholders
at the current rating level.
The outlook is stable and supported by expectations of higher revenues
and earnings, ongoing free cash flow, and a debt schedule
involving no long-term maturities until 2017.
Further profitable expansion of international business accompanied with
EBITA margins above 15%, EBITA/interest of 8x or higher,
debt/EBITDA closer to 2x, and retained flow/debt metrics of 35%
or more could have favorable rating implications. These relatively
high thresholds address the underlying cyclicality in the sector.
Furthermore, stronger ratings would require supportive financial
strategies with respect to the magnitude of acquisitions and shareholder
returns.
The ratings could come under pressure if the company experiences a substantial
deterioration in revenues and/or undertakes major debt-funded acquisitions
or share repurchases resulting in a significant weakening of its balance
sheet or deterioration in its liquidity profile. Credit metrics
which could develop negative pressure include: EBITA margins sustained
below 12%, EBITA/interest coverage declining below 4x or
debt/EBITA exceeding 3x over a prolonged period.
The principal methodology used in rating Rockwell Automation, Inc.
was the Global Heavy Manufacturing Rating Methodology published in November
2009.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular
rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the
support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings,
this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation
to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive
rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt,
in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed
prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would
have affected the rating. For further information please see the
ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following:
parties involved in the ratings, parties not involved in the ratings,
public information, confidential and proprietary Moody's Investors
Service information, and confidential and proprietary Moody's
Analytics information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated
entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing
a rating.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it
uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's
considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent
third-party sources. However, Moody's is not
an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate
information received in the rating process.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating
Process page on www.moodys.com for further information on
the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and
recovery.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for the last rating action and the rating history.
The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time
before Moody's ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may
not be available. Consequently, Moody's provides a
date that it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information
that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page
on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst, and to the Moody's legal entity that
has issued the rating.
Edwin Wiest
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Michael J. Mulvaney
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
Moody's Disclosures on Credit Ratings of Rockwell Automation, Inc.