Moody’s Lowers Rating of Baker International

Citing the recent collapse in oil prices, Moody’s Investor Service, one of the nation’s largest bond-rating services, said Tuesday it has lowered its rating on the credit worthiness of Baker International Corp. of Orange.

Moody’s lowered the rating on Baker’s senior debt to A2 from A1 and the rating on its commercial paper to Prime-2 from Prime-1. The rating’s downgrade also affects the short-term borrowings of Baker’s Baker International Finance N.V. subsidiary.

Moody’s said that despite Baker’s pursuit of “a stringent cost-containment program” since the beginning of the downturn in the oil service industry in 1982, the recent collapse in oil prices “will reduce future revenues markedly and force further cost-cutting measures.”