Transocean’s losses widened in the fourth quarter as the company booked more than $6 billion in special charges, however revenue soared 14 percent and company share rose in electronic trading early Monday.
The Swiss offshore rig owner reported losses of $6.12 billion, or $18.62 per share, for the three-month period ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $799 million, or $2.51 per share, in the same part of 2010. Revenue rose 13.9 percent in the period to $2.42 billion.
Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig that caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in an April 2010 disaster that led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Its potential liabilities stemming from the spill were reduced this month after a federal judge excluded the company as a “responsible party” under the Oil Pollution Act. But the company still may face Clean Water Act fines.
Transocean estimates its losses at $1 billion from the Gulf spill.
Excluding the potential losses from the spill and other special items like a $5.2 billion goodwill impairment charge, Transocean said it earned an adjusted 18 cents per share in the quarter.
Analysts, who typically exclude special items, had expected a profit of 24 cents per share on revenue of $2.34 billion, according to FactSet.
Transocean said business picked up in the fourth quarter. It used 61 percent of its fleet in the fourth quarter, compared with 58 percent during the same part of 2010. Contract revenues also increased by 8.6 percent to $2.24 billion.
For the full year, Transocean said it lost $5.73 billion, or $17.79 per share, compared with a profit of $961 million, or $2.99 per share, in 2010. Annual revenue fell by 3.4 percent to $9.14 billion.
Shares of Transocean Ltd. rose by $1.19, or 2.4 percent, to $51.92 in premarket trading.
