Diamond Offshore Q4 Profit Declines; Declares Dividends - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO) reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income was $92.62 million or $0.67 per share, lower than last year's net income of $155.66 million or $1.12 per share.

The latest quarter results were negatively impacted by $0.41 per share to reserve for an uncertain tax position related to Egyptian operations, partially offset by a gain of $0.12 per share in connection with a settlement agreement. The prior year results included an impairment charge of $40.6 million, or $0.29 per share.

On average, 34 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.80 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues in the fourth quarter were $726.50 million, compared with revenues of $750.54 million in the prior year quarter. Analysts estimated revenues of $698.35 million for the quarter.

Larry Dickerson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "our operating results for the quarter and the full year reflect our ongoing focus on managing costs and reducing downtime."

Separately, Diamond Offshore declared a special quarterly cash dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock and a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share of common stock. Both dividends are payable on March 3 to shareholders of record on February 19.