S&P lowers ConAgra's corporate credit rating

NEW YORK (AP) — Standard&Poor's on Friday lowered its corporate credit rating on ConAgra Foods Inc. because of weak credit and high operating costs.

S&P lowered its rating one notch to "BBB" from "BBB+" and removed all ratings on the company from CreditWatch with negative implications.

S&P said higher operating costs have hurt margins, particularly in its consumer foods segment, which represented 64 percent of fiscal 2008 revenue.

The ratings agency said it expects ConAgra to "modestly improve" credit measures from current levels over the next two years.

Standard&Poor's could revise the outlook to negative if the company adopts a more aggressive financial policy. The outlook currently remains stable.

Last month, ConAgra said quarterly profit dropped because of the sale of a business, but reiterated its earnings forecast for the year and said it expects ingredient and energy costs to slow in the current quarter.

Shares of ConAgra declined 5 cents to close at $17.10.