Diamond Offshore, Helmerich Revenue Declines Not as Bad as Feared
03 May 2016 - 1:40AM
Dow Jones News
Contract drillers Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Helmerich
& Payne Inc. each reported sharp revenue declines for their
latest quarters, although not as bad as analysts had feared.
However, Helmerich & Payne shares fell 5.3% to $62.61 in
morning trading in New York as the company's adjusted per-share
loss was wider than expected. Meanwhile, shares of Diamond Offshore
rose 1.2% to $24.55 as its per-share earnings beat Wall Street
estimates.
The oil-field-services sector has continued to get hit by weak
demand as a prolonged commodities downturn has led oil producers to
rein in spending and cut costs.
"These are demanding times in the energy service space, and the
challenge for many is now one of survival," Helmerich & Payne
Chief Executive John Lindsay said. "The U.S. land rig count is
comparable to the all-time record lows reached in 1999."
Mr. Lindsay said the company expects drilling activity will
deteriorate further in the current quarter as customers continue to
reduce spending. However, he also said Helmerich & Payne's
long-term contracts have helped it remain profitable.
For it fiscal second quarter ended March 31, Helmerich &
Payne reported a profit of $21.2 million, or 19 cents a share, down
from $153.5 million, or $1.41 a share, a year earlier. The latest
period included net gains of 47 cents a share, while the
year-earlier period included net gains of 40 cents a share.
Revenue slumped 51% to $438.2 million amid broad declines across
its U.S. land drilling, international land drilling and offshore
drilling businesses.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share loss of
18 cents and revenue of $398.3 million.
Diamond Offshore Chief Executive Marc Edwards said that he was
pleased with his company's solid results for the latest quarter,
which he said demonstrate Diamond Offshore's continuing efforts to
manage costs. He also touted the company's fleetwide operational
efficiency rate of 98.2% during the quarter, which compared with
91.2% a year earlier.
Over all, Diamond Offshore reported a first-quarter profit of
$87 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss
of $255.7 million, or $1.86 a share, a year earlier.
Revenue decreased 24% to $470.5 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
27 cents and revenue of $412.1 million.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2016 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
HP (NYSE:HPQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
HP (NYSE:HPQ)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024