On Aug. 26, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services raised its corporate credit rating and senior unsecured ratings on Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. to 'BB-'from 'B+' following a review of current and expected growth initiatives and Hornbeck's ability to fund them in a manner that will not hurt credit quality. The ratings were also removed from CreditWatch with positive implications, where they were placed on March 11, 2004, following the announcement that Hornbeck would issue six million shares of common stock in an IPO. The outlook is now stable. Mandeville, La.-based Hornbeck currently has $175 million of debt. The ratings upgrade reflects Hornbeck's improved liquidity and financial flexibility following its IPO. With nearly $85 million in liquidity as of June
