NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 6, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it lowered its rating on Fremont, Calif.-based Lam Research Corp. to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The outlook is negative. The rating action primarily reflects the company's significant decline in sales and profitability, as well as Standard&Poor's expectations of further declines throughout 2009, given the weak semiconductor capital equipment market. The rating on Lam Research reflects the volatile nature of the semiconductor capital equipment industry, the company's narrow business focus, as well as its high customer and product concentration. Lam Research's net cash position only partially offsets these factors. Revenues declined 27%, to about $1.9 billion, during the 12 months ended Dec. 28, 2008. In
