Oil Rig Operator Posts Improved Profits
Bermuda-headquartered oil rig operator Nabors Industries revealed mixed results in its third-quarter report, but showed an expansion in profits on an upswing in its North American markets.
Operating out of offices on Par-La-Ville Road, Nabors this week posted net income of $129.6 million on revenues of $1.63 billion in the three months ending in September 2011.
That excluded a $47.4 million one-time impairment related to rig retirements that was partially offset by new acquisitions, the company said.
That was compared with net income of $84.7 million on revenue of $1.08 billion over the same period the prior year.
Diluted earnings per share were $0.44, compared with $.29 a year ago, beating expectations from analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Chief executive Gene Isenberg called the results a “solid performance,” with a return to profitability in the US offshore market, improvements in US well services and land drilling as well as in Canada operations.
“All of this served to more than offset the seasonal low in Alaska and significantly lower-than-expected results in our international operations,” he said in a statement.
Operating income for US land drilling hit $104.9 million for the quarter, with an average rig count of 201.8.
The company retired 104 rigs determined to be “functionally or economically non-competitive for today’s market and are being dismantled for parts and scrap.”
A deepwater platform rig and “several” shallow-water rigs have work lined up, but are awaiting permit approvals expected to clear in time to allow the projects to start by mid-third quarter.
Two deepwater platform rigs have been under construction, one of which is expected to go to work in the first quarter of 2013.
The company disclosed what it said were lower-than-expected results of $29 million in due to delayed startups in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
International rigs are on the upswing, the company said, with an average of 105 expected to grow to 130 by the end of 2012.
While acknowledging global economic uncertainty, “we have yet to see any slowdown in our day-to-day operations,” Mr. Isenberg said. “There are numerous developments in all our businesses that continue to support a positive outlook over the longer term.”
