Noble Corp. will consider expanding through mergers, asset purchases and other ways, but feels no pressure to act and can compete well at its current size, the offshore driller's new chief executive said today."We don't feel pressure to do a deal just for the sake of doing a deal," David Williams, Noble's chairman and CEO, said during a conference call to discuss the company's fourth quarter financial results.
The comments marked the first time Williams has spoken publicly since he was named chairman, CEO and president of Sugar Land-based Noble earlier this month.
Williams replaced board member William Sears, who has held the positions on an interim basis since Sept. 20, the day Noble announced that Mark Jackson had resigned from the top job for unspecified reasons.
Jackson's exit spurred speculation among analysts that he may have disagreed with the board of directors regarding the company's attitude toward mergers or takeovers.
Williams sought to clarify Noble's position toward consolidation Thursday.
"Throughout our history, we've used a combination of new builds, upgrades, asset purchases and strategic corporate acquisitions to expand and reposition the fleet. We've always looked at the business with an eye toward making it stronger and more profitable for the future. Nothing has changed with respect to our strategic intent," he said.
Analysts have speculated that offshore drillers will be forced to pursue more mergers after last summer's announcement that Houston's Transocean had agreed to buy GlobalSantaFe, also of Houston, in an $18 billion deal that created the world's biggest offshore driller.
But Williams said Noble, with 62 rigs in markets around the world, will only purse a merger or other growth opportunities if they make sense.
"I don't know if just getting bigger means a whole lot to us," he said.
Offshore drillers, particularly those with rigs capable of drilling in deep waters, have benefited as record high oil prices and rising world energy demands have prompted energy companies to spend more on oil and gas exploration.
And a worldwide shortage of deepwater rigs has driven rig rental rates above $600,000 a day in some cases.
On Wednesday, Noble Corp. said fourth quarter profits rose 74 percent on higher rental rates for its rigs.
Net income increased to $347.4 million, or $1.29 per share, from $199.7 million, or 74 cents, during the October-December period last year. Operating revenues rose 49 percent to $831 million, lifted by a big gain in the company's contract drilling services business.
Noble is the first of the major contract drillers to report quarterly earnings. Houston-based Diamond Offshore reports Feb. 7, Transocean follows on Feb. 20, while Dallas-based Ensco International goes on Feb. 26 and Houston's Pride International and Rowan Cos. release numbers on Feb. 28.
Noble's stock price closed up $1.34 at $46.07 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jackson's exit spurred speculation among analysts that he may have disagreed with the board of directors regarding the company's attitude toward mergers or takeovers.
Williams sought to clarify Noble's position toward consolidation Thursday.
"Throughout our history, we've used a combination of new builds, upgrades, asset purchases and strategic corporate acquisitions to expand and reposition the fleet. We've always looked at the business with an eye toward making it stronger and more profitable for the future. Nothing has changed with respect to our strategic intent," he said.
Analysts have speculated that offshore drillers will be forced to pursue more mergers after last summer's announcement that Houston's Transocean had agreed to buy GlobalSantaFe, also of Houston, in an $18 billion deal that created the world's biggest offshore driller.
But Williams said Noble, with 62 rigs in markets around the world, will only purse a merger or other growth opportunities if they make sense.
"I don't know if just getting bigger means a whole lot to us," he said.
Offshore drillers, particularly those with rigs capable of drilling in deep waters, have benefited as record high oil prices and rising world energy demands have prompted energy companies to spend more on oil and gas exploration.
And a worldwide shortage of deepwater rigs has driven rig rental rates above $600,000 a day in some cases.
On Wednesday, Noble Corp. said fourth quarter profits rose 74 percent on higher rental rates for its rigs.
Net income increased to $347.4 million, or $1.29 per share, from $199.7 million, or 74 cents, during the October-December period last year. Operating revenues rose 49 percent to $831 million, lifted by a big gain in the company's contract drilling services business.
Noble is the first of the major contract drillers to report quarterly earnings. Houston-based Diamond Offshore reports Feb. 7, Transocean follows on Feb. 20, while Dallas-based Ensco International goes on Feb. 26 and Houston's Pride International and Rowan Cos. release numbers on Feb. 28.
Noble's stock price closed up $1.34 at $46.07 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: Houston Chronicle | By BRETT CLANTON
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