Ensco (ESV) Q2 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Revenues Miss

Oil and natural gas driller, Ensco plc (NYSE:ESV) , reported diluted second-quarter 2017 loss (excluding one-time items) of 10 cents a share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 12 cents. Notably, the company posted earnings of 51 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

Total revenue declined to $457.5 million from $909.6 million in the year-ago quarter. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $463 million.

The decline may be attributed to lower realized dayrates and higher costs.

Segmental Performance

Floaters: Revenues were $264 million compared with $636.4 million in the prior-year quarter. This was primarily because of fewer rig operating days and a decline in the average day rate to $338,675 from $359,575 a year ago.

Reported utilization was 43% compared with 57% last year. Adjusted for uncontracted rigs and planned downtime, operational utilization remained unchanged from last year at 99%.

Jackups: Revenues were $178.9 million compared with $251.3 million a year ago. This was due to a decline in average day rates to $88,583 from $111,791 in the prior-year quarter. Fewer operating days for several jackups also contributed to the decrease in revenues.

Reported utilization was 64% compared with 63% in second-quarter 2016. Adjusted for uncontracted rigs and planned downtime, operational utilization in the reported quarter was 98% as against 99% a year ago.

Other: Revenues plummeted to $14.6 million from $21.9 million in second-quarter 2016. Contract drilling expenses decreased to $13 million from $19 million in the year-ago period.

Costs and Expenses

Depreciation expenses declined to $107.9 million from $112.4 million in second-quarter 2016. This was due to the extension of lives for certain contracted assets. General and administrative expenses increased to $30.5 million from $27.4 million last year, mainly due to higher transaction costs relating to the acquisition of Atwood.

Balance Sheet and Capex

At the end of the second quarter, Ensco had $169.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Long-term debt (including current maturities) was $4,744.7 million, with net debt-to-capitalization ratio of 36.7%.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Ensco carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include Enbridge Energy, LP (NYSE:EEP) , Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) and TransCanada Corp (TO:TRP) . While Braskem and TransCanada sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Enbridge Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Enbridge Energy delivered a positive earnings surprise of 128.57% in the preceding quarter. The company beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 38.22%.

Braskem delivered a positive earnings surprise of 107.79% in the quarter ending September 2016.

TransCanada delivered a negative earnings surprise of 7.58% in the preceding quarter. It surpassed estimates in two of the trailing four quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 1.06%.

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