HOUSTON, May 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tesco
Corporation (NASDAQ: TESO) announced today that its Board of
Directors has approved the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend
to shareholders of its common stock and has authorized the
repurchase of as much as $100 million
of Tesco's common shares. These initiatives are designed to create
a more balanced investment opportunity and return value directly to
the company's shareholders.
The Board today declared a second quarter cash dividend of
$0.05 per share of Tesco common
stock. The dividend will be paid on June 2,
2014 to shareholders of record on May
22, 2014. Based on shares outstanding at March 31, total dividend payments to be made
during the quarter ended June 30 will
be approximately $2 million.
"We are delighted by the Board's decision following our in-depth
review of our Strategic Business Plan. Both initiatives reflect our
confidence in Tesco's ability to generate increasing levels of free
cash flow, while continuing to expand our global presence through
increased market penetration and expansion of our core businesses
in new markets," said Julio M.
Quintana, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tesco
Corporation.
"We believe a balanced program of continuing to reinvest in
organic growth projects while pursuing additional bolt-on
acquisitions, combined with returning a portion of our free cash
flow directly to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks,
is the right strategy. Maintaining a strong financial
structure will remain a fundamental element of our strategy.
"These actions taken by our Board reflect our confidence in the
long-term value of Tesco's market position and financial
performance, and we believe that our current share price presents
an attractive investment opportunity for the company," added
Quintana.
The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend
on a variety of factors including the stock price, other investment
opportunities, corporate and regulatory requirements and other
market and economic conditions. The repurchased shares will
become treasury shares, which may be reissued later in connection
with acquisitions or with our long-term incentive plans.
ABOUT TESCO CORPORATION
Tesco Corporation is a global
leader in the design, manufacture and service of technology based
solutions for the upstream energy industry. The Corporation
seeks to change the way people drill wells by delivering safer and
more efficient solutions that add real value by reducing the costs
of drilling for and producing oil and gas.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains
statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements include, among others, statements
regarding expectations of future revenues, activities, capital
expenditures and earnings and technical results. These
statements are based on current expectations that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to
differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are
not limited to: the background risks of the drilling services
industry (e.g. operational risks; potential delays or changes in
plans with respect to customers' exploration or development
projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of estimates and
projections relating to levels of rental activities; uncertainty of
estimates and projections of costs and expenses; risks in
conducting foreign operations (e.g. political and fiscal
instability) and exchange rate fluctuations); uncertainty and risks
in technical results and performance of technology; and other
uncertainties.
Contact:
Chris
Boone, Chief Financial Officer
Tesco Corporation
(713) 359-7000
SOURCE Tesco Corporation