About HARMAN
Moody’s Investors Services raises HARMAN rating to Investment-Grade
October 11, 2012STAMFORD, CT – Harman International Industries, Incorporated, the leading
global audio and infotainment group (NYSE: HAR) today announced that Moody’s
Investors Services has raised the Company’s credit rating to Baa3 from Ba1,
elevating HARMAN to investment-grade status, with the assignment of the Baa3
rating to the company’s new senior unsecured bank credit facilities announced
yesterday.
In its statement, Moody’s commented on HARMAN’s strong competitive position
in infotainment as well as its consistent revenue growth. Moody’s described
HARMAN as having an “excellent liquidity profile,” pointing to the recent
closing of a new credit facility that provides the Company with more than $1
billion in added liquidity. Moody’s noted Harman’s new capital structure is
expected to strongly support investments to grow the business, despite the
current regional challenges in the automotive industry and weak European
macroeconomic conditions on automotive demand. Moody’s also noted HARMAN’s
$16.1 billion business backlog and operating flexibility, which it believes will
support profit and cash flow improvement over the near-term.
“Following S&P’s rating upgrade last month, today’s elevation to
investment-grade by Moody’s further underscores HARMAN’s solid financial
position and ability to execute on our profitable growth strategy,” said HARMAN
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dinesh C. Paliwal. “Although
during the last few months, the automotive industry has felt the economic
slowdown and lost some of its growth momentum, we believe this sector has very
good mid- to long-term growth potential. Despite global economic uncertainty,
HARMAN’s focus on managing costs, maintaining a strong balance sheet and
investing in innovation has put the company in an excellent long-term
competitive position.”
HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.