Oil driller Helmerich & Payne reports 3Q loss after Venezuelan takeover, offshore drilling ban

Helmerich reports 3Q loss on Venezuelan takeover

TULSA, Okla. — Oil and gas drilling company Helmerich & Payne Inc. said Thursday it lost $36.7 million in its fiscal third quarter as it wrote off assets that the Venezuelan government took over.

The loss of 34 cents per share compares with a net profit of $53 million, or 50 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Helmerich said it recorded an impairment charge of $102.7 million due to the Venezuelan government’s June 30 action. Helmerich reclassified its Venezuelan business as discontinued operations for a total loss of $101.6 million from discontinued operations, helped slightly by selling some drilling equipment.

The company reported revenue of $483.4 million, up from $384.4 million a year earlier, saying continuing recovery in U.S. land drilling helped.

Income from offshore drilling fell to $11.2 million from $12.7 million in last year’s third quarter and $13.6 million in the previous quarter. The company estimated that 3 percent of the decline was due to lower standby rates received when the government imposed a deep water drilling ban after an offshore drilling rig exploded April 20 and caused a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 59 cents per share, but they typically don’t account for one-time items. Excluding the charge for the Venezuelan takeover and other items, Helmerich earned 60 cents per share.

(This version CORRECTS the analyst estimates.)