Diamond Offshore prepared for prolonged industry downturn, CEO says

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 2 – Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. president and chief executive officer Marc Edwards said his company’s third-quarter results demonstrate Diamond’s “ability to execute on managing our costs and controlling downtime.”

The company’s strategic review at the end of the first quarter “has fallen through with positive results to the third quarter.”

Edwards said that although the industry is cyclical, “this will be a long and a hard downturn,” the likes of which have not been seen for decades.

Diamond has prepared for the prolonged downturn in part by reducing headcount and increasing its revolver and has cut SG&A and overhead by 20%, according to the CEO.

The Houston-based offshore oil and gas drilling contractor ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $141 million, compared with about $234 million at Dec. 31, 2014. Long-term debt was roughly flat at about $2 billion.

Diamond had net income for the quarter of $136 million, or $0.99 per share. This compares with $53 million, or $0.38 per share, in the third quarter of 2014.

Revenues for the quarter were $610 million, down from $738 million a year ago in the third quarter of 2014.

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