Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. (NE) said Wednesday that its third quarter profit increased over last year, helped by higher operating revenues. The company's quarterly earnings came in well-ahead of the Street consensus, as did quarterly revenues.
The Sugar Land, Texas-based company posted net earnings to common shareholders of $421.6 million or $1.63 per share for the third quarter, up from $379.2 million or $1.42 per share in the prior year quarter. On average, 32 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.53 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net income for the quarter rose to $426 million from $383 million in the year-ago quarter.
The results for the latest quarter include a net tax benefit of $0.05 per share related to the settlement of tax assessments in various locales and other discrete items.
Third quarter operating revenues increased to $905.64 million from $861.98 million in the same quarter last year. Twenty-three analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $905.60 million for the third quarter.
Contract drilling services revenues for the quarter rose 4.8% to $875 million for the third quarter 2009. Labor contract drilling services fell 8.5% to $7.5 million over a year earlier.
Contract drilling margins were about 71%, generating $517 million in net cash provided by operating activities. Noble invested $367 million in capital projects during the quarter.
Total operating cost and expenses increased to $401.22 million from $394.33 million in the prior year quarter.
During the quarter, Noble repurchased 2.0 million shares, bringing year-to-date total repurchases to 3.7 million shares at an average price per share of $30.35 and a total cost of $113 million.
For the nine-month period of 2009, Noble reported net income to common shareholders of $1.22 billion or $4.70 per share, compared to $1.13 billion or $4.23 per share in the previous year period.
Operating revenues for the period increased to $2.70 billion from $2.54 billion in the prior year period.
Noble closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $42.62, up 9 cents, on a volume of 4.47 million shares. In after-hours, the shares further gained 48 cents or 1.13%.
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