New York, February 18, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") upgraded
the ratings of Owens & Minor, Inc., ("Owens &
Minor ") including its Corporate Family Rating (CFR) to B1 from B2 and
its Probability of Default Rating (PDR) to B1-PD from B2-PD.
Moody's also upgraded the rating on the senior secured credit facilities
and notes to B1 from B2. The Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating
was upgraded to SGL-1 from SGL-2, signifying very
good liquidity. The outlook remains positive.
The upgrade of the CFR and positive outlook reflects a material reduction
in leverage following over $500 million of debt reduction inclusive
of the proceeds from follow-on equity issuance in October 2020,
and continued improvement in operating performance. Pro forma adjusted
debt/EBITDA approximated 3.6x for the twelve months ended September
30, 2020, versus 6.0x for the twelve months ended June
30, 2020. Owens & Minor has benefitted from strong demand
in the company's manufacturing business, which produces personal
protective equipment (PPE) used to prevent the transmission of coronavirus
and other infectious diseases. The company will continue to benefit
from elevated demand for PPE over the next 12-18 months,
which will support further deleveraging assuming solid business execution.
The growing contribution of the manufacturing business, which has
higher profit margins than the distribution business, is having
a positive impact on the group's overall profitability. Moody's
expect this trend to continue over the next 12-18 months.
Rating actions:
..Issuer: Owens & Minor, Inc.
.... Corporate Family Rating, upgraded
to B1 from B2
.... Probability of Default Rating,
upgraded to B1-PD from B2-PD
. Gtd. senior secured notes due 2024, upgraded to
B1 (LGD3) from B2 (LGD3)
. Speculative Grade Liquidity rating, upgraded to SGL-1
from SGL-2
Outlook action:
Owens & Minor, Inc.
The outlook remains positive
Issuer: Owens & Minor Medical, Inc.
Senior Secured Revolving credit facility expiring 2022, upgraded
to B1 (LGD3) from B2 (LGD3)
Gtd. Senior Secured term Loan B due 2025, upgraded to B1
(LGD3) from B2 (LGD3)
Outlook action:
Owens & Minor Medical, Inc.
The outlook remains positive
RATINGS RATIONALE
Owens & Minor's B1 CFR is constrained by moderate scale in the highly
competitive medical distribution business and low margins overall despite
an increasing contribution from its profitable manufacturing operations.
Although manufacturing margins have improved due to the manufacturing
throughput from PPE demand, as the pandemic wanes, sales growth
and manufacturing margin on these products will likely moderate.
Moody's expects that adjusted debt to EBITDA will continue to decline
and remain in the 2.5x to 3.0x range over the next 12-18
months supported by further profitability improvement and debt reduction.
With revenues of $8.3 billion in the twelve months ended
September 30, 2020, Owens & Minor competes against significantly
larger companies, such as Cardinal Health, Inc.,
which also has a more diversified product offering. The ratings
are supported by Moody's view that the company will continue to
expand its manufacturing business while sustaining positive free cash
flow.
The Speculative Grade Liquidity Rating of SGL-1 reflects the company's
very good liquidity, including ample headroom under its financial
covenants, positive free cash flow after required debt amortization
and access to external credit facilities. At September 30,
2020, Owens & Minor had unrestricted cash of $77 million.
The company has recently repaid its 2021 notes and the term loan due in
2022. The $400 million revolving credit facility will expire
in July 2022.
The positive outlook reflects Moody's expectation that financial leverage
will improve to between 2.5x and 3.0x over the next 12 to
18 months as the company further grows its manufacturing business,
stabilizes its core distribution business, and repays debt.
Owens & Minor has limited exposure to environmental risks.
The coronavirus pandemic, which Moody's considers as a social risk,
has materially affected Owens & Minor's performance by reducing demand
for surgical equipment as a result of a decline in hospital procedures
in 2020. However, this adverse impact was partly mitigated
by a strong increase in demand for PPE that the company manufactures and
distributes. With respect to governance, Owens & Minor
has had several management changes within the last two years and therefore
the current management team has a limited track record at Owens &
Minor. Under the prior management team, the company pursued
several leveraging acquisitions.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS
The ratings could be upgraded if the company is able to sustain organic
revenue and margin growth in the manufacturing business, refinances
its debt maturities due in 2022, and further reduce leverage.
Specifically, if adjusted debt/EBITDA is expected to be sustained
below 3.0x, Moody's could upgrade the ratings.
The ratings could be downgraded if liquidity deteriorates from current
levels, if the company experiences margin pressure, or if
cash flow weakens. Specifically, if adjusted debt/EBITDA
is sustained above 4.0x Moody's could downgrade the ratings.
Owens & Minor, headquartered in Mechanicsville, VA,
is a nationwide provider of distribution and logistics services to the
healthcare industry. Owens & Minor operates two divisions:
Global Solutions (85% of 2019 revenue) that includes a comprehensive
portfolio of products and services to healthcare providers and manufacturers,
and Global Products (15% of 2019 revenue) that manufactures and
sources medical surgical products. In the twelve months to September
30, 2020, Owens & Minor had revenue of $8.3
billion.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Distribution &
Supply Chain Services Industry published in June 2018 and available at
https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1121974.
Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com
for a copy of this methodology.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and
sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and
Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's
Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.
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Jean-Yves Coupin
Vice President - Senior Analyst
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A.
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Jessica Gladstone, CFA
Associate Managing Director
Corporate Finance Group
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