Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc’s quarterly earnings rose, lifted by higher profits from its deepwater rigs, and the company said it had signed 10 new contracts in the past 45 days worth $1 billion in revenue.
The figures show the company benefited from oil and gas producers’ desire to tap into huge offshore reservoirs that require rigs capable of drilling thousands of feet below the ocean floor at water depths often exceeding one mile.
Second-quarter net profit rose to $267 million, or $1.92 per share, from $224 million, or $1.61 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to $890 million.
Analysts’ average forecast was $1.92 per share. It was not immediately clear if the figures were comparable. Revenue topped the $870 million forecast by analysts.
The new contracts were signed withBrazil’s Petrobras and OGX andMexico’s Pemex.
Diamond, majority owned by Loews Corp, said it would pay a special cash dividend of 74 cents per share on top of its regular quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share.
On Wednesday, rival Noble Corp reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit, falling short of analysts’ estimates due to rig downtime. Shares of Diamond Offshore were fractionally higher at $73.00 in premarket trading.
