WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Noble Corp. (NE) reported first quarter net income attributable to the company of $150.0 million, or $0.59 per share, compared to $120.01 million, or $0.47 per share in the year ago quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.56 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Meanwhile, revenues for the first quarter of 2013 were $970.97 million compared to $797.69 million in the first quarter of 2012. Twenty six analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $987.18 million for the quarter.
David Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said, 'During the first quarter, we saw an improvement in our operational performance across several regions, compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Two rigs accounted for most of the downtime in the quarter While our performance improved in the quarter, achieving further reductions in downtime and improving operational performance remain key objectives for the Company.'
Contract drilling services revenues for the first quarter of 2013 of $929 million improved by $7 million, due primarily to improved fleet utilization, which increased to 86 percent from 83 percent in the same period last year.
Contract drilling margin for the first quarter was 47.9 percent, compared to 47.5 percent in the fourth quarter.
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