(Source: Business Wire)
Cal Dive International, Inc. (NYSE:DVR) reported first quarter 2009 net income of $12.3 million, or $.12 per diluted share compared to $0.6 million and $.01 per diluted share for the same period of 2008. The increase in net income is primarily due to increased vessel utilization as a result of increased diving activity in international markets and repair and salvage work as a result of hurricanes Gustav and Ike that struck the Gulf of Mexico in the late summer of 2008.
Quinn Hébert, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive, stated, "We are off to a good start this year because of excellent performance and execution by our men and women offshore, who took advantage of good weather windows for ongoing salvage and repair projects as well as new construction. We also took advantage of the expected weather disruptions by completing over half of our annual dry dock and vessel maintenance days during the first quarter. Our backlog grew to over $400 million including two international projects in Mexico and China."
Financial Highlights
Backlog: Contracted backlog was $402 million as of March 31, 2009 compared to a backlog of $350 million at December 31, 2008 and $450 million as of April 30, 2008.
Revenues: First quarter 2009 revenues increased by $62.5 million to $207.1 million as compared to the first quarter of 2008, primarily due to increased vessel utilization as a result of increased international diving activity and demand for hurricane related work.
Gross Profit: First quarter 2009 gross profit increased by $14.1 million to $38.8 million as compared to the first quarter of 2008. The increase was due to the reasons cited above.
SG&A: First quarter 2009 SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 8.6% for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 11.9% for first quarter of 2008. The percentage decrease was primarily due to the increase in revenues discussed above.
Net Interest Expense: First quarter 2009 net interest expense decreased by $3.1 million over the first quarter of 2008, due to lower variable interest rates associated with outstanding borrowings.
Income Tax Expense: The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2009 was 31.0% compared to 31.5% for the first quarter of 2008. The rate decrease is primarily due to an increased percentage of income being earned in foreign jurisdictions with lower effective tax rates.
Balance Sheet: Total debt was $395.0 million and cash and cash equivalents were $91.5 million for a net debt position of $303.5 million as of March 31, 2009 compared to a net debt position of $254.4 million at December 31, 2008 and $282.2 at March 31, 2008. The increase in net debt is due to the revolving loan borrowings incurred in connection with the January 2009 purchase by the Company of 13.6 million shares of its common stock from its majority stockholder, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.
Further details will be provided during Cal Dive's conference call, scheduled for 11 a.m. Central Time on May 6, 2009. The teleconference dial-in numbers are: (866) 831-6247 (domestic), (617) 213-8856 (international), passcode 82395882. Investors will be able to obtain the slide presentation and listen to the live conference call broadcast from the Investor Relations page at http://www.caldive.com. A replay will also be available from the Investor Relations-Presentations page.
Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a marine contractor that provides an integrated offshore construction solution to its customers, including manned diving, pipelay and pipe burial, platform installation and platform salvage services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry on the Gulf of Mexico OCS, Northeastern U.S., Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Middle East, India and the Mediterranean, with a fleet of 31 vessels, including 21 surface and saturation diving support vessels and 10 construction barges.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This press release may include "forward-looking" statements that are generally identifiable through our use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project" and similar expressions and include any statements that we make regarding our earnings expectations. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise such statements to reflect new information or events as they occur. Our actual future results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, including changes in the level of offshore exploration, development and production activity in the oil and natural gas industry, our inability to obtain contracts with favorable pricing terms if there is a downturn in our business cycle, intense competition in our industry, the operational risks inherent in our business, risks associated with our relationship with Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., our controlling stockholder, and other risks detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
CAL DIVE INTERNATIONAL, INC.
