Transocean, the world's largest provider of offshore drilling services, said its second-quarter profit fell 78% to $155 million, or 48 cents a share, down from $715 million, or $2.22 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 65 cents a share.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 78 cents on revenue of $2.33 billion. Switzerland-based Transocean (RIG) pointed to lower utilization rates as one reason behind the profit drop. In the second quarter, the company's utilization rate fell to 55% from 64% a year earlier.
Transocean had 28% of its fleet of 134 offshore rigs parked in shipyards or waiting on standby for new customers, Bloomberg News reported, citing a Transocean filing. Daily rental rates slumped by as much as 26% during the second quarter, according to Bloomberg.
In an SEC filing released today, Transocean said it expects utilization and day rates for all of its rig classes to remain steady or improve over the next several quarters as energy producers look to boost exploration efforts thanks to rising oil prices. Transocean's order backlog fell to $23.6 billion from $24.6 billion as of mid-July. The earnings report was released after the close of U.S. markets on Wednesday.
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