SDRL Seadrill Limited

By Dominic Chopping

Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter net loss on Thursday, but said that the deepwater drilling market is continuing to improve with more contracting activity and better terms.

Seadrill, which operates a fleet of 35 drilling rigs and manages a further 18, reported a net loss of $295 million in the three months to March 31. A FactSet-provided estimate forecast a net loss of $237 million.

Revenue came in at $302 million compared with a FactSet-provided estimate of $284 million, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization totaled $72 million.

Seadrill expects adjusted Ebitda for the second quarter of 2019 will be lower than the first quarter, at around $55 million.

"We continue to see increased contracting activity in the deepwater market, in many instances with improved contract terms such as mobilization payments and certain capex being paid for by the customer," Chief Executive Anton Dibowitz said.

"While the spot market for short term work remains competitive, we are starting to see improvements in rates for longer term work."

The company said its backlog as of May 23 stood at around $1.9 billion, having gained $130 million since February.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com; @domchopping @WSJNordics

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2019 01:48 ET (05:48 GMT)

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