Transocean Swings To Profit In Q1

(RTTNews) - Transocean Ltd. (RIG) returned to profit in the first quarter, supported by higher contract drilling revenues and reduced expenses.

Operating income rose to $287 million from $64 million in the same period last year.

Net income came in at $71 million, reversing a loss of $79 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Earnings per share were $0.06, compared with a loss per share of $0.11 last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company posted a loss of $28 million or $0.03 per share.

Contract drilling revenues increased to $1.081 billion from $906 million year ago.

For the second quarter, the company expects Contract drilling revenues in the range of $930 million - $970 million.

For the full year, revenues are expected between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion.