Impairments drag Ocean Rig down

Ocean Rig, an international contractor of offshore deepwater drilling services, has posted a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 due to impairment charges. 

The drilling contractor on Tuesday posted a net loss of $174.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to a profit of $87.5 million in the same period in 2014.

The company recorded an impairment charge of $415 million, associated with the company’s drilling rigs.

Ocean Rig’s revenues during the quarter decreased by $23.7 million to $475.7 million, as compared to $499.4 million for the same period in 2014.

George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company, commented: “In the fourth quarter our fleet operated at 99.5% utilization continuing the strong trend from the previous three quarters. Our full year 2015 fleet operating efficiency was approximately 98.2%, allowing us to successfully monetize our contracted revenue backlog.

“For the fourth quarter of 2015 we recorded approximately $475.7 million in net revenue and after paying operating and G&A expenses, our EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2015 amounted to approximately $300.8 million versus the fourth quarter of 2014 EBITDA of approximately $276.7 million.”

Economou added: “The prospects for the industry remain bleak with limited visibility of new contracts and are likely to remain so at least until 2018.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff