Drilling contractor Diamond Offshore went from red to black during the fourth quarter of 2016 while its revenues dropped, compared to the same period in 2015.
The driller on Monday reported a net income of $116.08 million for 4Q 2016, compared to a loss of $245.4 million in the corresponding period of 2015.
Further, the company’s revenues during the fourth quarter of 2016 were $391.9 million, down from $555.6 million in the prior-year quarter.
“Considering current market headwinds, I am pleased with our fourth quarter results, driven in part by continuing cost controls and improving rig efficiencies,” said Marc Edwards , President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Despite an extremely challenging market environment, the Ocean GreatWhite , Ocean Scepter and the Ocean BlackRhino will all commence term contracts in the first quarter, contributing to our strong backlog and liquidity positions.”
As reported by Offshore Energy Today earlier in January, during the quarter Diamond was awarded a contract with the Australian energy company BHP Billiton for the semi-submersible drilling rig Ocean Monarch . The driller said in the 4Q report that the contract is scheduled to start at the end of the second quarter of 2017 and it runs through late third quarter of 2017.
As of December 31, 2016, the company’s total contracted backlog was $3.6 billion, which represents 25 rig years of work. Approximately 94% of the company’s available ultra-deepwater rig days for 2017 are contracted with top tier customers.
Offshore Energy Today Staff