Factors Determining the Company’s Credit Rating. Analysts at independent credit rating agencies
review the company’s financial statements annually and assign the company a credit rating ranging from
A+ to C−. A company’s credit rating is a function of three factors: (1) the debt-to-assets ratio; (2) the
interest coverage ratio (defined as annual operating profit divided by annual interest payments); and (3) the
default risk ratio (defined as free cash flow divided by the combined annual principal payments on all
outstanding loans; free cash flow is defined as net profit plus depreciation minus dividend payments). A
company with a default risk ratio below 1.0 is automatically assigned “high risk” status (because it is short
of cash to meet its principal payments) and cannot be given a credit rating higher than C+. Companies
with a default risk ratio between 1.0 and 3.0 are designated as “medium risk”, and companies with a
default ratio of 3.0 and higher are classified as “low risk” because their free cash flows are 3 or more times
the size of their annual principal payments. Your company’s prior-year and projected performance on
these three credit rating measures is shown on the Finance Decisions screen; this allows you to keep
close tabs on the company’s financial status and see when actions are needed to maintain a good credit
rating. A projected year-end credit rating, based on projections of how your company will likely stack up on
the three credit rating determinants, is shown at the bottom of every decision screen. Complete
information about your company’s credit status and financial strength is included in the reports that
accompany each year’s decision results. (See the Help page for more information about credit ratings.)