Moody's may lower some of Avery Dennison's ratings

Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it might lower Avery Dennison Corp.'s senior unsecured debt ratings after the adhesive label maker said its margins are being squeezed by slipping sales volumes and rising raw material costs.

Moody's put Avery's "Baa1", or investment grade, debt ratings under review for possible downgrade and maintained its "P-2" commercial paper ratings.

Moody's anticipates finishing the review by the end of April.

On Tuesday, Pasadena, Calif.-based Avery Dennison said its fourth-quarter profit slumped 46 percent to 43 cents per share while revenue fell 12 percent to $1.51 billion.

Adjusted earnings were 65 cents per share, which excluded restructuring and asset impairment charges, acquisition related costs and other items.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast net income of 43 cents per share on sales of $1.6 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Shares of Avery Dennison slipped 95 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $24.33 in afternoon trading. The stock hit a fresh 52-week low of $24.13 earlier in the session. The stock's previous year low of $24.20 was set on Tuesday.