("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

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