On Sept. 13, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on GrafTech International Ltd. to positive from stable. At the same time, we affirmed all ratings on the company, including its 'B+' corporate credit rating. The outlook revision reflects GrafTech's continued solid operating results over the past few quarters due to higher graphite electrode pricing and relatively steady demand, a trend we expect will continue in the near term. As a result of the good operating results, in addition to significant debt repayment due to the sale of the company's cathodes business earlier in 2007, the company's consolidated financial profile has improved to a level that we would consider to be more consistent with a higher rating. The
