Noble 2Q Results: Postgame Scorecard

Noble (NYSE:NE) saw its profit climb in the second quarter, exceeding Street expectations.

Earnings and Revenue The company's EPS topped estimates and revenues came in line with Wall Street's expectations. The company reported EPS of 63 cents a share versus the 58 cents a share estimate and revenues of $898.9 million versus the $895.7 million estimate. The estimates of 20 analysts ranged from profit of 48 cents to profit of 70 cents.

The company's net income for the quarter rose 195.5% to $159.8 million. Revenue climbed 43.1% from $628 million in the same period last year.

Company Fundamental Trends Last quarter marked the third in a row of rising net income. The company's revenue has grown during at least each of the past four quarters on a year-over-year basis.

History Against Expectations The company has managed to top estimates the last two quarters. In the first quarter, it beat expectations with net income of 47 cents versus a mean estimate of net income of 41 cents per share.

Official Comment: "Quarterly results, when compared to the first quarter, include improvements in revenues, margins and cash from operations," stated David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble Corporation. "These improvements are the result of continuing strength in the offshore drilling business. Furthermore, our fleet mix has begun to shift with the addition of the ultra-deepwater drillships Noble Bully I, Noble Bully II and Noble Globetrotter I. Revenues from our floating rig fleet accounted for approximately 65 percent of contract drilling services revenues in the quarter, including an estimated 33 percent of revenues from our ultra-deepwater fleet of rigs. These contributions are expected to grow further as we add the remaining five ultra-deepwater drillships to our active fleet. Finally, we have seen some early benefits from a number of operational and process improvements, which have led to fewer unpaid downtime days across the fleet, a figure that declined to under three percent in the quarter."

Estimates provided by Zacks Investment Research and company fundamentals from Xignite Financials.