("Noble Corp. 2Q Profit Down 75% After Work Interruptions,"
published at 5:20 p.m. EDT, misstated in the third paragraph that
Noble is the world's second-biggest offshore rig fleet owner. A
correct version follows.)
Noble Corp.'s (NE) second-quarter profit fell 75% after several
rig service interruptions cut into revenue.
Shares fell 2.1% to $36.85 after hours Wednesday after the
worse-than-expected results. The stock had climbed 17% over the
past year through the close.
Noble, which owns the third-largest offshore-drilling fleet
after Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and Ensco PLC (ESV), is poised to
benefit along with its peers from a broad-based recovery in day
rates for drillers.
Noble's top line has suffered, however, as customers sue to try
to get out of long-term Gulf of Mexico drilling contracts after
rigs sat idle during the federal drilling moratorium. In one
instance, Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) canceled a four-year $752
million contract for a deep-water rig.
The contract driller recently pushed back start dates for two
new rigs and detailed fresh disputes with Mexico's state-owned oil
company over another lease, adding to troubles caused by a dearth
of new contracts.
"Second-quarter results were significantly hindered by several
downtime events involving five rigs," Chairman and Chief Executive
David Williams said. "Although we were disappointed by the
interruption in service on these rigs, most of which pertained to
subsea equipment and control systems, four out of five rigs
returned to service prior to the end of the second quarter."
Noble reported a profit of $54.1 million, or 21 cents a share,
down from $217.9 million, or 85 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue dropped 12% to $628 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 23 cents
a share and revenue of $643 million.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909;
Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com