By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland
OSLO--Norwegian oil services company Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) on
Thursday said the oil services industry continues to face tough
times, as it reported that first-quarter net profit dropped
following a year-earlier deconsolidation and despite improved
underlying earnings.
Net profit fell to $427 million, or $0.86 a share, from $3.1
billion a year earlier, when the figure was boosted by one-off
gains that included the deconsolidation of Seadrill partners.
Revenue rose to $1.24 billion from $1.22 billion over the same
period.
Seadrill said Mark Morris would join the company as chief
financial officer in September, coming from the same position at
Rolls-Royce PLC (RR.LN).
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
were $711 million, up from $624 million a year earlier. The company
said it expected second-quarter Ebitda to be about $70 million
lower than in the first quarter, mainly due to idle time on some of
its rigs and the deconsolidation of SeaMex.
"The industry continues to face challenging times, and while the
first quarter performance has been solid, we are not immune from
the wider industry challenges," said Seadrill Chief Executive Per
Wullf. "Indications suggest the remainder of 2015 will see subdued
market conditions and the challenging market continuing into
2016."
-Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at
kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com
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