Noble Corp Q4 Profit Up 36%, Matches View

(RTTNews) - Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. (NE) on Wednesday reported a 36 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter from last year, boosted by higher contract drilling service revenues.

Adjusted earnings per share matched analysts' expectations, while revenues slightly missed their estimates. Looking ahead, the company said that the first half of 2014 is likely to be characterized by lower rig utilization.

The Switzerland-based company's contract drilling services revenues for the fourth quarter rose 22 percent to $1.12 billion, due primarily to an increase in average dayrates.

Total average rig utilization for the quarter edged down to 82 percent from 83 percent in the prior-year period, while average dayrate increased 22 percent to $212,019. Contract drilling margin for the quarter was 50.2 percent.

Fourth-quarter net income attributable to the company's shareholders was $171.99 million or $0.68 per share, up from $126.28 million or $0.50 per share in the same period last year. The latest quarter's results include an after-tax charge of $36 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, relating to an impairment taken on the FPSO Seillean.

Excluding this, adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $210 million or $0.82 per share. On average, 33 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.82 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter grew 22 percent to $1.17 billion from $966.37 million in the year-ago period. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.16 billion.

Total contract backlog as at the end of the fourth quarter was about $15.4 billion, compared to $16.2 billion at the end of the preceding third quarter. The decline was partly due to a change in the bonus realization assumptions relating to contracts with Petrobras and Shell.

For fiscal 2013, Noble Energy's net income to common shareholders rose to $773.44 million or $3.05 per share from $517.04 million or $2.05 per share in the previous year. Revenues for the year grew to $4.23 billion from $3.55 billion in the prior year.

Street expected the company to earn $2.89 per share for the year on revenues of $4.23 billion.

Looking ahead, David Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble Corp. said, "...although we believe activity in the jackup sector is best defined as a steady state, the reality is that we find ourselves evaluating fewer floating rig contract opportunities today than we did a year ago. We expect to have additional contract opportunities under review as the year progresses, but it is increasingly clear that the first half of 2014 is likely to be characterized by lower rig utilization."

In late September 2013, Noble said its board of directors approved a plan to separate the company's business into two separate and highly-focused offshore drilling companies. The company said Wednesday that it was on track to complete the divestiture by the end of 2014.

NE closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $36.25, up $0.78 or 2.20 percent on a volume of 4.61 million shares. However, in after-hours, the stock declined $0.65 or 1.79 percent to $35.60.