Outlook 'stable' for Waterford Wedgwood

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has indicated the outlook is stable for ISEQ-listed Waterford Wedgwood.

S&P assigned its B+ long-term corporate credit rating to the household goods and textiles company.

S&P also assigned its B- debt rating to the plans to raise €165m of subordinated debt through the capital markets

But S&P said the ratings are conditional on the completion of the £38.5 (€55.14) rights issue, announced today.

The campany reported earlier today a pre-tax pre-exceptional loss of €12.1m in the six months to 30 September, compared with a profit of €24.5m the year earlier. However, recent cost savings and the new capital structure combined with improving sales trends indicates a more positive future for Waterford Wedgwood.