* Q4 results beat Street
* Sees Q1 profit $0.85-$0.90/shr vs estimate $0.87/shr
* Says to cut U.S. rig-based workforce by a third
* Expects to spin off mat jackup unit by mid-2009
* Shares up 15 pct (Recasts; adds details from conference call, analyst comment, updates share movement)
By Shradhha Sharma
BANGALORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Pride International Inc's (PDE.N) quarterly profit beat expectations, but the oil and gas driller warned of a difficult operating environment going forward.
Shares of the company rose 15 percent to $18.14, before paring some gains to trade up $2.27 at $18.05 Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
On a conference call with analysts, Pride said it expects further decline in utilization rates of its mat-supported jack up fleet in the first quarter, will cold stack two additional rigs and intends to cut about one third of its U.S. rig-based workforce.
"Even though the outlook is pretty weak, a lot of that has already been priced into the stock," Morgan Keegan analyst Michael Drickamer told Reuters.
The company, which provides contract drilling and related services to oil and gas companies operating in 15 countries, expects first-quarter earnings between 85 cents and 90 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 87 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
SPIN OFF SOON?
Houston-based Pride International said that it expects to spin off of its Gulf of Mexico fleet -- made up of 20 mat-supported jackup rigs by the middle of 2009.
A mat-supported jackup rig comes with a mat at the bottom to help stabilize operations in soft and muddy regions.
The company, which has already cold stacked five of its mat jackup rigs in the U.S. Gulf and idled two others, plans to divest its mat jackup fleet to shareholders amidst a weakening demand environment.
"With the company continuing to stack rigs, there were concerns that the spin off won't occur....but what they said today was that the current market environment will not hinder the spin off," Morgan Keegan's Drickamer said.
Fourth quarter revenue at the company's mat-supported jackup segment fell 5 percent to $123.7 million. Utilization also slipped to 69 percent from 71 percent, a year earlier.
Quarterly profit rose 74 percent to $234.7 million, or $1.36 a share, driven by higher utilization and revenue at its deepwater and midwater fleets and lower operating costs. Excluding items, it earned $1.14 a share. Revenue jumped 29 percent to $621.6 million.
* Sees Q1 profit $0.85-$0.90/shr vs estimate $0.87/shr
* Says to cut U.S. rig-based workforce by a third
* Expects to spin off mat jackup unit by mid-2009
* Shares up 15 pct (Recasts; adds details from conference call, analyst comment, updates share movement)
By Shradhha Sharma
BANGALORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Pride International Inc's (PDE.N) quarterly profit beat expectations, but the oil and gas driller warned of a difficult operating environment going forward.
Shares of the company rose 15 percent to $18.14, before paring some gains to trade up $2.27 at $18.05 Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.
On a conference call with analysts, Pride said it expects further decline in utilization rates of its mat-supported jack up fleet in the first quarter, will cold stack two additional rigs and intends to cut about one third of its U.S. rig-based workforce.
"Even though the outlook is pretty weak, a lot of that has already been priced into the stock," Morgan Keegan analyst Michael Drickamer told Reuters.
The company, which provides contract drilling and related services to oil and gas companies operating in 15 countries, expects first-quarter earnings between 85 cents and 90 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 87 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
SPIN OFF SOON?
Houston-based Pride International said that it expects to spin off of its Gulf of Mexico fleet -- made up of 20 mat-supported jackup rigs by the middle of 2009.
A mat-supported jackup rig comes with a mat at the bottom to help stabilize operations in soft and muddy regions.
The company, which has already cold stacked five of its mat jackup rigs in the U.S. Gulf and idled two others, plans to divest its mat jackup fleet to shareholders amidst a weakening demand environment.
"With the company continuing to stack rigs, there were concerns that the spin off won't occur....but what they said today was that the current market environment will not hinder the spin off," Morgan Keegan's Drickamer said.
Fourth quarter revenue at the company's mat-supported jackup segment fell 5 percent to $123.7 million. Utilization also slipped to 69 percent from 71 percent, a year earlier.
Quarterly profit rose 74 percent to $234.7 million, or $1.36 a share, driven by higher utilization and revenue at its deepwater and midwater fleets and lower operating costs. Excluding items, it earned $1.14 a share. Revenue jumped 29 percent to $621.6 million.
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