Cal Dive International, Inc. reported a second quarter 2011 net loss of $5.0 million, or $.05 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $11.0 million, or $.12 per diluted share for the second quarter 2010.
The net loss improved by $6.0 million due to increased profitability as a result of a construction project in the Bahamas, increased diving related work in Australia, and an increased tax benefit due to a combination of changes in the management structure and pricing agreements related to certain foreign subsidiaries. This was partially offset by reduced activity and lower margins in the US Gulf of Mexico due to a slower than expected recovery in permitting activity and continued uncertainty in the region as compared to the same period in 2010 due to oil spill cleanup efforts following the Macondo well blowout.
Quinn Hébert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive , stated, “ As expected, our financial results improved from the first quarter although they are still at a disappointing level. Our results continue to reflect the challenging market conditions in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the slow permitting process stemming from the Macondo spill. Although the permitting process is recovering, it has been slower than expected and since many of our services lag behind new drilling activity, it will continue to have a negative impact on our activity levels in the Gulf of Mexico for the remainder of 2011. While we expect the upcoming third quarter to be the most active of the year, we expect our financial results to be lower than our strong third quarter of 2010 because of the higher activity levels and higher margins we experienced in the prior year associated with the oil spill cleanup efforts following the Macondo well blowout.
Internationally, we completed our large construction project in the Bahamas and the pipelay portion of our Mexico project during the second quarter. Our diving related work on the Gorgon project in Australia also contributed to the second quarter results and we expect this to increase starting in the third quarter as the project commences a more active phase. Markets in the Southeast Asia region continue to be highly competitive and we are actively bidding on projects there as well as exploring opportunities elsewhere. We continue to evaluate our cost structure and have implemented additional cost saving measures that will benefit the company moving forward .”
Financial Highlights
[mappress] Source: Cal Dive, August 03, 2011;