Rowan 3Q profit up. New drillship set for delivery

Rowan Companies plc, a U.S.-based offshore drilling company, generated net income of $119.6 million in the third quarter 2014, compared to $51.9 million, in the third quarter of 2013.

The current quarter includes an income tax benefit which reflects the favorable impact of a US tax settlement, net of an unfavorable retroactive impact of a recently finalized UK tax law, which increased net income by approximately $41.0 million, or $0.33 per share. Excluding the impact of this income tax benefit, net income was $78.6 million or $0.63 per share in the third quarter of 2014.

Drillship boosts revenues

Rowan’s revenues were $467.7 million in the third quarter of 2014, up 22% over the prior-year quarter due primarily to the start, in late April 2014, of the company’s first ultra-deepwater drillship and less out-of-service time for jack-up rigs.

Tom Burke, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are reasonably pleased with our third quarter operating results. During the quarter we added $1.2 billion of new contract backlog, principally from four jack-up contract extensions with Saudi Aramco. Our second newbuild ultra-deepwater drillship, the Rowan Resolute commenced operations in the US Gulf of Mexico in October and we will take delivery of our third newbuild drillship, the Rowan Reliance, in Korea this week.

“As we look forward, we are expecting our revenues to increase in 2015 as our newbuild drillships are added to the fleet. We are seeing softness in jack-up and deepwater markets worldwide. Notwithstanding these challenging conditions, we continue to believe that our strategy of operating high-specification drillships and jack-ups, along with our conservative financial profile and focus on cost control, place us in a good competitive position.”