Noble Improves as Gulf Drilling Rebounds

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Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico began to rebound in 2011, helping drilling contractor Noble Energy (NE) improve its earnings results. Noble saw a 29% jump in earnings for the fourth quarter, meeting analysts’ expectations for 50 cents of EPS, although revenue came up slightly short of expectations.

“As we enter 2012, Noble has a number of reasons to be optimistic,” said Chairman and CEO David Williams. “Our fleet transformation program is providing tangible results, with the initial three ultra-deepwater drillships expected to meaningfully contribute to operating results this year. Also, the direct negative fallout from the Macondo incident is largely behind us, and all of our active U.S. Gulf of Mexico-based semisubmersibles start the year at their full operating dayrates.”

Shares slid 0.3% after-hours.



Original Article Source by Barrons.com