Parker Drilling Reports Fourth Quarter Results

HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD), a drilling contractor and service provider, today reported results for the 2010 fourth quarter and annual periods ended December 31, 2010.  The Company's results for the fourth quarter included a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $13.4 million or $0.12 per diluted share on revenues of $173.3 million, compared with a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $4.3 million or $0.04 per diluted share on revenues of $175.8 million for the 2009 fourth quarter.  Excluding the effects of non-routine items the Company reported net income attributable to controlling interest of $1.5 million or $0.01 per diluted share compared with a similarly adjusted 2009 fourth quarter net loss attributable to controlling interest of $0.5 million or $0.00 per diluted share.  Adjusted EBITDA, excluding non-routine items, was $48.0 million, compared with $34.5 million for the prior year's fourth quarter.

"Our fourth quarter results reflect the balance that our diverse geographic and business mix provides in a cyclical industry," began Parker Drilling President and Chief Executive Officer David Mannon.  "We had another record performance from our rental tools business and improved results from our U.S. barge drilling operations. Though these gains were offset, principally by declines in our international drilling segment, the overall result was a significant increase in operating income on a one percent decline in revenues.  The required payment of a contested tax assessment in Kazakhstan, disclosed previously, and other non-routine items, resulted in a reported net loss for the quarter," said Mannon.

Fourth Quarter Highlights

    --  Parker's Rental Tools segment reported record levels of revenues,
        segment gross margin and segment gross margin as a percent of revenues.
        (Segment gross margins exclude depreciation and amortization expense.)
    --  The Company's U.S. barge drilling business continued to achieve
        year-to-year increases in rig fleet utilization, which, combined with
        operating improvements, have led to its highest reported revenues and
        segment gross margin and segment gross margin as a percent of revenues
        since 2008.
    --  International Drilling benefited from a new contract in the Asia Pacific
        region, deploying a rig in Papua New Guinea that had been previously
        stacked. In addition, the contract for Rig 257, Parker's Caspian Sea
        arctic barge drilling rig, was extended into 2012.
    --  The Parker-operated Yastreb rig set a new, extended-reach drilling
        record of 40,502 feet, nearly eight miles, in total measured depth. This
        rig, designed, built and operated by Parker Drilling for Exxon Neftegas
        Limited, set this record during development drilling of the Sakhalin-1
        Project's Odoptu field.


"The benefits of Parker's commitment to develop and grow its diverse, complementary operations are reflected in the results of the fourth quarter," said Mannon.  "The proliferation of lateral drilling on land in the U.S., predominantly in the emerging shale plays, has raised demand for rental equipment in the markets where our Rental Tools operations are located.  The pick-up in shallow water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and natural gas has renewed the barge drilling market, and, as the leading operator in that market, our business has continued to strengthen.  Our international drilling rig activity slowed, mostly the result of local market conditions in the CIS/Africa-Middle East region that have idled several rigs and the effect of redeploying rigs in the Americas region in response to changed opportunities.  Our project management business continued to provide a steady stream of revenues and cash flow as it performed on our existing operational contracts and continued development of additional project opportunities," he summarized.  "We believe our established strengths as a drilling services provider and our diversity of operations should contribute to improved results in the year ahead and provide support for longer-term earnings growth for Parker," Mannon concluded.

Fourth Quarter Review

Parker's revenues for the 2010 fourth quarter were $173.3 million compared with 2009 fourth quarter revenues of $175.8 million.  The Company's 2010 fourth quarter gross margin, before depreciation and amortization expense, was $54.2 million compared with 2009 fourth quarter gross margin of $43.0 million, while gross margin as a percentage of revenues increased to 31 percent from the 24 percent gross margin for the 2009 fourth quarter.  Results for the three months ended December 31, 2010, included the impact of several non-routine expenses.  These were comprised of $13.3 million related to a previously disclosed contested tax assessment in Kazakhstan; $0.5 million, pre-tax, related to the ongoing U.S. regulatory investigations and Parker's internal review regarding possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws; and a $2.0 million, pre-tax, reserve taken for the doubtful collection of a customer receivable.  These non-routine items reduced after-tax earnings by $14.9 million or $0.13 per diluted share.  The results for the 2009 fourth quarter included non-routine, after-tax expense of $3.8 million or $0.04 per diluted share.  Details of the non-routine items are provided in the attached financial tables.


    --  Rental Toolsrevenues increased 96 percent, to $49.3 million from $25.1
        million, segment gross margin rose to $32.8 million from $13.8 million,
        and segment gross margin as a percent of revenues rose to 66 percent
        from 55 percent. The continued growth in the U.S. in the development of
        shale formations and the expanded use of lateral drilling to exploit
        oil and natural gas resources has led to increased demand for rental
        tools. With facilities strategically located in key U.S. drilling
        markets and recent timely investments in rental tool inventory,
        Parker's Rental Tools business continued to benefit from increased
        demand, higher utilization and improved pricing. The increase in
        onshore demand was slightly offset by a decline in U.S. offshore and
        international revenues.
    --  U.S. Drilling revenues increased 32 percent, to $19.2 million from
        $14.5 million, segment gross margin rose to $5.7 million from $1.3
        million, and segment gross margin as a percent of revenues increased to
        30 percent from 9 percent. Barge drilling in the shallow water and
        inland areas of the Gulf of Mexico remained active, with continued
        improvement, year-to-year, in rigs working and dayrates. For the
        quarter, the business had an average of 9.5 barges employed,
        approximately 2 more than for the comparable period of 2009. The barge
        rig fleet's average dayrate was $21,000 for the 2010 fourth quarter and
        $19,300 for the 2009 fourth quarter.
    --  International Drilling revenues declined 31 percent, to $49.9 million
        from $72.7 million, segment gross margin declined to $10.3 million
        compared with $21.9 million, and segment gross margin as a percent of
        revenues decreased to 21 percent from 30 percent. A reduction in
        drilling activity in the CIS/AME region and Mexico led to a decline in
        rig utilization and lower revenues for the 2010 fourth quarter compared
        with the prior year's fourth quarter. This was offset in part by higher
        revenues from our Caspian Sea arctic barge rig which returned to a
        warm-stack rate during the fourth quarter of 2010, having been on a
        lower average dayrate in the prior year's fourth quarter. Though
        operating costs were reduced as utilization declined, gross margin
        declined more than revenues.
Average rig fleet utilization for the 2010 fourth quarter was 46 percent,
compared with 64 percent for the prior year's fourth quarter. For the quarter,
the ten-rig Americas regional fleet operated at 67 percent average utilization,
the eleven-rig CIS/AME regional fleet operated at 33 percent average
utilization and the eight-rig Asia Pacific regional fleet operated at 45
percent average utilization. Three rigs located in the Asia Pacific region are
being marketed for sale, reducing the region's fleet at year-end 2010 to five
rigs and Parker's overall international fleet to 27 rigs. (Additional rig fleet
information is available on Parker's Web site).



    --  Project Management and Engineering Services revenues increased 18
        percent, to $32.5 million from $27.6 million, segment gross margin
        decreased to $4.7 million from $5.4 million and segment gross margin as
        a percent of revenues decreased to 14 percent from 20 percent. The
        increase in revenues was primarily due to higher operating rates on the
        Yastreb rig and Orlan platform and increased engineering services
        revenues. The segment's gross margin decline is primarily attributable
        to lower earnings on the 2010 fourth quarter's engineering revenues
        compared with the prior year's fourth quarter.
    --  Construction Contractrevenues declined to $22.4 million compared with
        $35.8 million and segment gross margin was $0.9 million, compared to a
        $0.6 million in the prior year's comparable period. Segment revenues
        and gross margin represent work completed during the period on the
        construction of the customer-owned Liberty rig. In the fourth quarter,
        construction of the rig was halted by the customer while it reviews the
        rig's engineering and design, including its safety systems.




2010 Summary

The Company's results for the 2010 year included a net loss attributable to controlling interest of $14.5 million or $0.13 per diluted share on revenues of $659.5 million, compared with net income attributable to controlling interest of $9.3 million or $0.08 per diluted share on revenues of $752.9 million for the prior year.  Excluding the effects of non-routine items the Company reported adjusted net income attributable to controlling interest of $8.6 million or $0.08 per diluted share compared with similarly adjusted 2009 net income attributable to controlling interest of $16.5 million or $0.14 per diluted share.  Adjusted EBITDA, excluding non-routine items, was $163.4 million for the 2010 year and $166.8 million for the prior year.

Results for the 2010 year included the impact of non-routine items that decreased after-tax earnings by $23.1 million or $0.20 per diluted share.  Included in non-routine items are $7.2 million, pre-tax, of debt extinguishment costs related to the redemption of the Company's 9.625% senior notes; $5.9 million, pre-tax, of expense related to the U.S. regulatory investigations and Parker's internal review regarding possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws; $13.3 million of expense related to a tax assessment in Kazakhstan that is currently on appeal; and a $2.0 million, pre-tax, reserve taken for the doubtful collection of a customer receivable.  Net income for 2009 included $7.2 million of expense for non-routine items.  Also included in segment operating expenses for 2010 are $8.8 million, pre-tax ($5.5 million, after tax), from several tax settlements and adjustments that occurred in the 2010 third quarter related to prior periods' operations.

Cash Flow and Capitalization

Capital expenditures for 2010 were $219.2 million, including $112.5 million for the construction of Parker's two newbuild arctic land rigs for Alaska and $48.9 million for the purchase of tubular goods and other rental equipment.

Conference Call

Parker Drilling has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. CST (11:00 a.m. EST) on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, to discuss its reported results.  Those interested in listening to the call by telephone may do so by dialing (480) 629-9722.  The call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site at http://www.parkerdrilling.com.  A replay of the call can be accessed on the Company's Web site for 12 months and will be available by telephone from February 23 through March 3 by dialing (303) 590-3030 and using the access code 4403236#.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Acts.  All statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, projects, believes, or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including earnings per share guidance, the outlook for rig utilization and dayrates, general industry conditions including demand for drilling and customer spending and the factors affecting demand, competitive advantages including cost effective integrated solutions and technological innovation, future technological innovation, future operating results of the Company's rigs, rental tools operations and projects under management, capital expenditures, expansion and growth opportunities, asset sales, successful negotiation and execution of contracts, strengthening of financial position, increase in market share and other such matters are forward-looking statements.  Although the Company believes that its expectations stated in this release are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to certain risk factors, including the volatility in oil and natural gas prices, which could reduce the demand for drilling services.  For a detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations, please refer to the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including the reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Company Description

Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD) provides high-performance contract drilling solutions, rental tools and project management services to the energy industry.  Parker's international fleet includes 25 land rigs and two offshore barge rigs, and its U.S. fleet includes 13 barge rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.  The Company's rental tools business supplies premium equipment to operators on land and offshore in the U.S. and select international markets.  More information about Parker Drilling can be found at http://www.parkerdrilling.com.  Included in the Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site are operating status reports for Parker Drilling's rental tools segment and its international and U.S. rig fleets, updated monthly.


PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets





                                           December 31, 2010  December 31, 2009

                                           (Unaudited)

ASSETS                                     (Dollars in Thousands)

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and Cash Equivalents                  $ 51,431           $ 108,803

Accounts and Notes Receivable, Net         168,876            188,687

Rig Materials and Supplies                 25,527             31,633

Deferred Costs                             2,229              4,531

Deferred Income Taxes                      9,278              9,650

Assets held for sale                       5,287              -

Other Current Assets                       105,496            100,225

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS                       368,124            443,529



PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, NET         816,147            716,798



OTHER ASSETS

Deferred Income Taxes                      52,081             55,749

Other Assets                               26,944             27,010

TOTAL OTHER ASSETS                         79,025             82,759



TOTAL ASSETS                               $ 1,263,296        $ 1,243,086



LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Current Portion of Long-Term Debt          $ 12,000           $ 12,000

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities   163,263            177,036

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES                  175,263            189,036



LONG-TERM DEBT                             460,862            411,831



LONG-TERM DEFERRED TAX LIABILITY           9,324              16,074



OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES                29,781             30,246



TOTAL CONTROLLING INTEREST IN
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY                       588,313            595,899

Noncontrolling interest                    (247)              -

TOTAL EQUITY                               588,066            595,899



TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 1,263,296        $ 1,243,086





Current Ratio                              2.10               2.35



Total Debt as a Percent of Capitalization  45%                42%



Book Value Per Common Share                $ 5.05             $ 5.13






PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)





                      Three Months Ended December 31,  Year Ended December 31,

                      2010         2009                2010         2009

                      (Dollars in Thousands)           (Dollars in Thousands)

REVENUES:

International
Drilling              $ 49,950     $ 72,711            $ 220,371    $ 293,337

U.S. Drilling         19,191       14,533              64,543       49,628

Rental Tools          49,310       25,109              172,598      115,057

Project Management
and Engineering
Services              32,470       27,631              110,873      109,445

Construction Contract 22,395       35,801              91,090       185,443

TOTAL REVENUES        173,316      175,785             659,475      752,910



OPERATING EXPENSES:

International
Drilling              39,677       50,858              177,585      191,486

U.S. Drilling         13,533       13,233              53,334       48,054

Rental Tools          16,559       11,302              60,036       52,740

Project Management
and Engineering
Services              27,795       22,202              89,435       85,799

Construction Contract 21,526       35,194              90,888       177,311

Depreciation and
Amortization          28,526       28,593              115,030      113,975

TOTAL OPERATING
EXPENSES              147,616      161,382             586,308      669,365



TOTAL OPERATING GROSS
MARGIN                25,700       14,403              73,167       83,545



General and
Administrative
Expense               (6,695)      (11,485)            (30,728)     (45,483)

Impairment of
Goodwill              -            -                   -            -

Provision for
Reduction in Carrying
Value of Certain
Assets                (1,952)      (1,889)             (1,952)      (4,646)

Gain on Disposition
of Assets, Net        1,060        3,899               4,620        5,906



TOTAL OPERATING
INCOME                18,113       4,928               45,107       39,322



OTHER INCOME AND
(EXPENSE):

Interest Expense      (6,296)      (6,787)             (26,805)     (29,450)

Interest Income       59           146                 257          1,041

Loss on
extinguishment of
debt                  -            -                   (7,209)      -

Other Income
(Expense)             41           (721)               155          (1,086)

TOTAL OTHER INCOME
AND (EXPENSE)         (6,196)      (7,362)             (33,602)     (29,495)



INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE
INCOME TAXES          11,917       (2,434)             11,505       9,827



INCOME TAX EXPENSE
(BENEFIT)

Current               21,985       1,200               27,521       15,424

Deferred              3,377        690                 (1,308)      (14,864)

TOTAL INCOME TAX
EXPENSE (BENEFIT)     25,362       1,890               26,213       560



NET INCOME (LOSS)     (13,445)     (4,324)             (14,708)     9,267

Less: net (loss)
attributable to
noncontrolling
interest              (36)         -                   (247)        -

NET INCOME (LOSS)
ATTRIBUTABLE TO
CONTROLLING INTEREST  $ (13,409)   $ (4,324)           $ (14,461)   $ 9,267





EARNINGS PER SHARE -
BASIC

Net Income            $ (0.12)     $ (0.04)            $ (0.13)     $ 0.08



EARNINGS PER SHARE -
DILUTED

Net Income            $ (0.12)     $ (0.04)            $ (0.13)     $ 0.08



NUMBER OF COMMON
SHARES USED IN
COMPUTING EARNINGS
PER SHARE

Basic                 114,671,545  113,288,308         114,258,965  113,000,555

Diluted               114,671,545  115,465,565         114,258,965  114,925,446






PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

Selected Financial Data

(Unaudited)





                                              Three Months Ended

                                              December 31,        September 30,

                                              2010      2009      2010

                                              (Dollars in Thousands)

REVENUES:

 International Drilling                       $ 49,950  $ 72,711  $ 53,614

 U.S. Drilling                                19,191    14,533    14,929

 Rental Tools                                 49,310    25,109    48,114

 Project Management and Engineering Services  32,470    27,631    27,599

 Construction Contract                        22,395    35,801    27,773

 Total Revenues                               173,316   175,785   172,029



OPERATING EXPENSES:

 International Drilling                       39,677    50,858    51,312

 U.S. Drilling                                13,533    13,233    13,287

 Rental Tools                                 16,559    11,302    16,583

 Project Management and Engineering Services  27,795    22,202    20,378

 Construction Contract                        21,526    35,194    28,122

 Total Operating Expenses                     119,090   132,789   129,682



OPERATING GROSS MARGIN:

 International Drilling                       10,273    21,853    2,302

 U.S. Drilling                                5,658     1,300     1,642

 Rental Tools                                 32,751    13,807    31,531

 Project Management and Engineering Services  4,675     5,429     7,221

 Construction Contract                        869       607       (349)

 Depreciation and Amortization                (28,526)  (28,593)  (28,904)

 Total Operating Gross Margin                 25,700    14,403    13,443



 General and Administrative Expense           (6,695)   (11,485)  (7,064)

 Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of
 Certain Assets                               (1,952)   (1,889)   -

 Gain on Disposition of Assets, Net           1,060     3,899     1,176



TOTAL OPERATING INCOME                        $ 18,113  $ 4,928   $ 7,555







Marketable Rig Count Summary

As of December 31, 2010



                                                                  Total



 U.S. Gulf of Mexico Barge Rigs

 Intermediate                                                     3

 Deep                                                             10

 Total U.S. Gulf of Mexico Barge Rigs                             13



 International Land and Barge Rigs

 Asia Pacific                                                     5

 Americas                                                         10

 CIS/AME                                                          11

 Other                                                            1

 Total International Land and Barge Rigs                          27





 Total Marketable Rigs                                            40







PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

Adjusted EBITDA



(Dollars in Thousands)





                                                                                 Three Months
             Three Months Ended                                                  Ended

                                  June     March                         June    March
             December  September  30,      31,      December  September  30,     31,     December
             31, 2010  30, 2010   2010     2010     31, 2009  30, 2009   2009    2009    31, 2008



Previously
Reported Net
Income       $                             $        $                    $       $       $
(Loss)       (13,445)  $ 492      $ 507    (2,051)  (4,324)   $ 7,094    4,391   2,106   (39,477)

Restated
Interest
Expense, Net
of Tax - Per
APB 14-1     -         -          -        -        -         -          -       -       (724)

Restated Net
Income
(Loss)       (13,445)  492        507      (2,051)  (4,324)   7,094      4,391   2,106   (40,201)

Adjustments:

Income Tax
(Benefit)
Expense      25,362    786        1,624    (1,559)  1,890     (9,155)    5,079   2,746   (31,178)

Total Other
Income and
Expense      6,196     6,277      11,182   9,736    7,362     6,943      7,398   7,792   9,121

Loss/(Gain)
on
Disposition
of Assets,
Net          (1,060)   (1,176)    (1,712)  (672)    (3,899)   (1,225)    (704)   (78)    (683)

Impairment
of Goodwill  -         -          -        -        -         -          -       -       100,315

Depreciation
and
Amortization 28,526    28,904     29,012   28,588   28,593    29,307     28,951  27,124  31,961

Provision
for
Reduction in
Carrying
Value of
Certain

Assets       1,952     -          -        -        1,889     2,757      -       -       -



Adjusted                          $        $                             $       $
EBITDA       $ 47,531  $ 35,283   40,613   34,042   $ 31,511  $ 35,721   45,115  39,690  $ 69,335



Adjustments:

Non-routine
Items        460       930        694      3,811    2,998     2,402      4,048   5,308   6,279



Adjusted
EBITDA after
Non-routine                       $        $                             $       $
Items        $ 47,991  $ 36,213   41,307   37,853   $ 34,509  $ 38,123   49,163  44,998  $ 75,614






PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

Reconciliation of Non-Routine Items *

(Unaudited)

(Dollars in Thousands, except Per Share)





                                     Three Months Ending  Twelve Months Ending

                                     December 31, 2010    December 31, 2010



Net loss attributable to controlling
interest                             $ (13,409)           $ (14,461)

Earnings per diluted share           $ (0.12)             $ (0.13)



Adjustments:

 Extinguishment of debt              -                    7,209

 Provision for the reduction in
 carrying value                      1,952                1,952

 U.S. regulatory investigations /
 legal matters**                     460                  5,895

 Total adjustments                   $ 2,412              $ 15,056

 Tax effect of pre-tax non-routine
 adjustments                         (844)                (5,270)

 Kazakhstan tax audit assessment     13,304               13,304

 Net non-routine adjustments         $ 14,872             $ 23,090



Adjusted net income attributable to
controlling interest                 $ 1,463              $ 8,629

Adjusted earnings per diluted share  $ 0.01               $ 0.08









                                     Three Months Ending  Twelve Months Ending

                                     December 31, 2009    December 31, 2009

Net income (loss) attributable to
controlling interest                 $ (4,324)            $ 9,267

Earnings per share

                                     $ (0.04)             $ 0.08



Adjustments:

 Provision for reduction in carrying
 value                               1,889                4,646

 Rig 57B settlement                  (3,750)              (3,750)

 U.S. regulatory investigations /
 legal matters                       3,944                15,702

 Total adjustments                   $ 2,083              $ 16,598

 Tax effect of non-routine
 adjustments                         (729)                (5,809)

 Prior years Foreign Tax Credits/Fin
 48 reserve                          2,464                (3,589)

 Net non-routine adjustments         $ 3,818              $ 7,200



Adjusted net income (loss)
attributable to controlling interest $ (506)              $ 16,467

Adjusted earnings per diluted share  $ (0.00)             $ 0.14










*  Adjusted net income, a non-GAAP financial measure, excludes items that
   management believes are of a non-routine nature and which detract from an
   understanding of normal operating performance and comparisons with other
   periods. Management also believes that results excluding these items are
   more comparable to estimates provided by securities analysts and used by
   them in evaluating the Company's performance.



** Amended to include comparable expenses in all periods.





SOURCE Parker Drilling