Noble Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2012 Earnings of $0.63 per Diluted Share

ZUG, Switzerland, July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today reported second quarter 2012 earnings of $160 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, versus $120 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2012.   Earnings for the second quarter of 2011 were $54 million, or $0.21 per diluted share. Contract drilling services revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were $848 million versus $746 million for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of approximately 14 percent. For the second quarter of 2011, contract drilling services revenues totaled $590 million. Second quarter 2012 results included a non-recurring after tax net gain of $0.04 per diluted share related to the final settlement of certain Hurricane Ike claims, partially offset by the impairment of  two submersible rigs and certain corporate assets.

David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble Corporation, stated, "Quarterly results, when compared to the first quarter, include improvements in revenues, margins and cash from operations. These improvements are the result of continuing strength in the offshore drilling business. Furthermore, our fleet mix has begun to shift with the addition of the ultra-deepwater drillships Noble Bully I,Noble Bully II and Noble Globetrotter I. Revenues from our floating rig fleet accounted for approximately 65 percent of contract drilling services revenues in the quarter, including an estimated 33 percent of revenues from our ultra-deepwater fleet of rigs.  These contributions are expected to grow further as we add the remaining five ultra-deepwater drillships to our active fleet.  Finally, we have seen some early benefits from a number of operational and process improvements, which have led to fewer unpaid downtime days across the fleet, a figure that declined to under 3 percent in the quarter."

Net cash from operating activities increased to $435 million in the second quarter of 2012, up from $101 million in the first quarter. Average dayrates across the fleet increased 9 percent in the second quarter to $181,700 from $167,100 in the first quarter.

Debt as a percentage of total capitalization was unchanged from the first quarter at approximately 35 percent. Capital expenditures in the first six months of 2012 totaled $665 million, including $162 million (excluding capitalized interest) related to Noble's fleet transformation program. The Company continues to expect capital expenditures for 2012 to total an estimated $1.9 billion, including approximately $618 million for newbuild construction programs.

Operations Highlights

At the end of the second quarter of 2012, approximately 79 percent of the Company's available rig operating days were committed for the remainder of 2012, including 79 percent of the floating rig fleet and 84 percent of the jackup fleet. For 2013, an estimated 61 percent of operating days are committed, including 80 percent of the floating rig days and 55 percent of jackup days.  Total backlog at June 30, 2012 was approximately $14.4 billion, which excludes the recent contract award for the newbuild drillship Noble Bob Douglas.

Williams added, "The first half of 2012 was highlighted by the commencement of operations on our first new ultra-deepwater drillships and the award of a contract for the first of our newbuild jackups, the Noble Regina Allen, a JU3000N high-specification unit. Also, as previously reported, in early July, we were awarded a three-year term contract for the second of our new ultra-deepwater drillships under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., the Noble Bob Douglas, representing a total contract value of approximately $677 million.  These contracts are evidence of the strong customer demand for drilling rigs with advanced technical specifications and operational efficiencies, and we continue to evaluate high quality opportunities for the remaining uncontracted drillships and jackups in our fleet expansion program."

In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the Company recorded a full quarter of operations from the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Bully I. Also, following the conclusion of the second quarter, the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter I completed customer acceptance testing and is now operating at its contracted dayrate of $422,000. 

In Mexico, three of the Company's jackup rigs received contract extensions: the Noble Sam Noble, to late October 2014 at a dayrate of $90,000, versus $81,000 on the previous contract, theNoble Earl Fredrickson, to early September 2014, at a dayrate of $85,000, up from $58,000 on the previous contract, and the Noble Tom Jobe to early May 2015 at a dayrate of $85,000, unchanged from its previous contract.  The Company now has all 12 of its jackup rigs in Mexico under contract into late 2012 or beyond.

In the North Sea, jackup fleet utilization remained at 100 percent in the second quarter, while the Company continued to benefit from steady customer demand, supporting an improving dayrate environment.  The Noble George Sauvageau was awarded a one-year contract at $140,000 per day, up from $115,000 per day on the previous contract. The semisubmersible rig Noble Ton van Langeveld was awarded a contract to early October 2014 at a dayrate of $275,000, up from a previous dayrate of $247,500. The Noble Ton van Langeveld, along with four of the Company's eight jackups in the region, are now contracted through mid-2013 or beyond.  In the Eastern Mediterranean, the semisubmersible rig Noble Homer Ferrington received a letter of intent for additional work at $500,000 per day, extending commitments on the rig to mid-2013.

In the Middle East and India, fleet utilization declined slightly in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter, due in part to downtime on the jackup Noble Kenneth Delaney, which in May incurred leg damage while moving on location and will undergo repairs. The rig is expected to resume its contract in India during the fourth quarter of 2012. The Noble Chuck Syring was contracted during the quarter to perform accommodation work until mid-September at $58,000 per day. Additionally, the drillship Noble Duchess began in mid-May its three-year contract at $180,000 per day offshore India.

In West Africa, the Company signed one-year contracts on the Noble Percy Johns and the Noble Ed Noble, both commencing in early July 2012 at rates of $149,000 and $142,000, respectively.

In closing, Williams commented, "Despite economic uncertainty and the corresponding pressure on commodity prices during the second quarter, we remain confident in the long-term outlook for our business. Our backlog continues to expand and we are benefitting from growing visibility into the latter part of this decade. The offshore drilling business is characterized by continued successes in exploration drilling and expanding geographies, a building portfolio of field development projects, interest in frontier locations and attractive commodity prices. This is especially true for the deepwater sector of our business, where we continue to see exceptional opportunities offshore the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Africa, Brazil and throughout Asia Pacific.  I believe Noble is well positioned to benefit from this active business environment given the availability in our existing fleet of floating and jackup rigs, and through our fleet expansion program."

About Noble Corporation

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 79 offshore drilling units (including five ultra-deepwater rigs and six jackup drilling rigs currently under construction), located worldwide, including in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India and the Asian Pacific. Noble's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NE." Additional information on Noble Corporation is available on the Company's Web site at http://www.noblecorp.com.

Conference Call

Noble has scheduled a conference call and webcast related to its second quarter 2012 results on Thursday, July 19, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call by dialing 1-866-461-7129, or internationally 1-706-679-3084, using access code: 97199643, or by asking for the Noble Corporation conference call. Interested parties may also listen over the Internet through a link posted in the Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site. 

A replay of the conference call will be available on Thursday, July 19, 2012, beginning at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time, through Thursday, August 2, 2012, ending at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time. The phone number for the conference call replay is 1-855-859-2056 or, for calls from outside of the U.S., 1-404-537-3406, using access code: 97199643.  The replay will also be available on the Company's Web site following the end of the live call.  The conference call may include non-GAAP financial measures. Noble will post a reconciliation of any such measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's Web site under the heading "Regulation G Reconciliations."

Statements regarding financial performance, contract backlog, earnings, costs, capital expenditures, revenue, rig demand, fleet composition, condition or performance, timing of delivery of newbuilds, contract commitments, dayrates, contract commencements, contract extensions or renewals, letters of intent or award, industry fundamentals, customer relationships or demand', future performance, growth opportunities, market outlook, as well as any other statements that are not historical facts in this release, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These include but are not limited to operating hazards and delays, risks associated with operations outside of the U.S., actions by regulatory authorities, customers and other third parties, legislation and regulations affecting drilling operations, compliance with regulatory requirements, factors affecting the level of activity in the oil and gas industry, supply and demand of drilling rigs, factors affecting the duration of contracts, delays in the construction of newbuilds, the actual amount of downtime, factors that reduce applicable dayrates, violations of anti-corruption laws, hurricanes and other weather conditions, the future price of oil and gas and other factors detailed in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q's and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated. 

SOURCE Noble Corporation