Diamond Offshore Drilling forgoes special dividend, ends Q4 with $2 billion of long-term debt

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 9 – Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. ended its fourth quarter and full year on Dec. 31 with cash and cash equivalents of about $234 million and long-term debt of about $2 billion. This compares to $347 million and $2.2 billion, respectively, at Dec. 31, 2013, according to the earnings news release.

While the company’s board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, payable March 2, it chose note to declare a special dividend.

“Given the significant downturn in industry fundamentals, we believe it is prudent to retain cash so that the company is in a stronger position to take advantage of opportunities that may materialize in a distressed market,” said president and chief executive officer Marc Edwards.

Since it began paying a special dividend in January 2006, Diamond Offshore has paid a total of roughly $5.7 billion.

Diamond Offshore had fourth quarter net income of $99 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared to net income of $93 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Full-year net income was $387 million, or $2.81 per diluted share, compared to net income of $549 million, or $3.95 per diluted share, in 2013.

Fourth-quarter revenues were $675 million, down from $726 million in the prior-year period. Revenues for full-year 2014 were $2.82 billion, compared to $2.92 billion in 2013.

The offshore oil and gas drilling contractor is based in Houston.

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