Hornbeck Offshore Service’s 2Q profit sails past forecasts

Hornbeck’s 2Q profit climbs,

NEW ORLEANS — Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc., which provides water transportation for the petroleum industry, is prepared to move to wherever rigs go if the deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico drives away business, the company’s CEO said Thursday.

During a conference call with investment analysts, CEO Todd Hornbeck said the immediate business future of Gulf drilling likely will be decided in the next 60 to 90 days.

Besides the moratorium, which the Covington, La., company is challenging in federal court, Hornbeck said other factors include whether the cap on oil spill liability is raised and what regulations are put in place for future spill response.

“Our future in the Gulf of Mexico will be molded by the answers to these questions,” he said.

Hornbeck said the company considers the Gulf its “home field,” but has established business in such countries as Brazil, Mexico and Trinidad. Many industry observers consider Brazil to be a likely home for displaced deepwater rigs.

“If the rigs move and the demand drivers move, we’ll attempt to move with them,” Hornbeck said.

Hornbeck’s comments came after the company posted a second-quarter profit Thursday that handily beat analysts’ forecasts.

For the April-through-June period, the company reported net income of $13 million, or 48 cents per share, up from $199,000, or a penny a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose to $111.9 million from $97.9 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, had forecast per-share earnings of 14 cents and revenue of $94.9 million.

Hornbeck said its revenue jumped primarily because of new and converted vessels put into service over the past year that can command higher rates. The company said it currently has 20 vessels working on spill relief.

Hornbeck reaffirmed its 2010 earnings guidance, saying it expected a profit that would range between 58 cents per share and $1.50 per share. Analysts expected 76 cents a share on average.

Its shares fell 82 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $16.81 in afternoon trading. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $12.63 to $30.55.