Nextel Communications' "B" loan climbed up to heights unseen for the paper in more than a year, as it traded in the 97 1/8 range last week. "The trends for the business are good," noted one investor, explaining that the paper had been so depressed partly because of its association with the telecom sector. "We're glad that the market is recognizing our progress," said a company spokeswoman, in regards to the uptick.
Standard & Poor's also improved the outlook for Nextel from negative to stable, noted one dealer, helping explain the rise in levels. The rating agency cited solid operating performance with EBITDA margins growing to 38% for the forth quarter as one of the reasons for its revised opinion. In addition, S&P also noted that the company's leverage has decreased from around 7.8 times to 3.9 times over the course of 2002.