NEW YORK-Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service lowered its corporate credit rating on Rural Cellular Corp. from ‘B+’ to ‘B’ due to the potential the rural carrier could breach a debt leverage bank covenant this year, the possibility of lower revenue due to national carriers extending their networks and overall slower industry growth.
“In addition, the payment of cash dividends on the company’s senior exchangeable preferred stock commencing August 2003 could affect the growth of the company’s free cash flow,” said Rosemarie Kalinowski, credit analyst at S&P.
