Parker Drilling Q3 Profit, Revenue Rise - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Parker Drilling Co. (PKD) said third-quarter net income attributable to controlling interest increased to $12.57 million from $7.97 million last year. Earnings per share rose to $0.10 from $0.07.

Excluding non-routine items, the company earned net income of $11.8 million or $0.10 per share. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.11 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues grew to $242.01 million from $237.76 million in the prior year. Analysts expected revenues of $251.67 million.

Gary Rich, chairman, president and CEO, said, "Our third quarter results were in line with our expectations and reflect a solid performance from our operations. We achieved a sequential increase in gross margin and gross margin as a percentage of revenues, although revenues declined due to anticipated reductions in Technical Services project revenues, reimbursable expenses and the Latin America region's rig fleet utilization."

Looking ahead, the company said it believes the recent decline in the price of crude oil is beginning to influence drilling activity in U.S. markets. This could lead to lower than previously expected fourth quarter revenues and earnings from U.S. operations.

However, the firm's international businesses operate in markets where drilling activity is less volatile. As a result, near-term expectations for the international businesses are largely unchanged.