Oil spill 'culprit' Transocean reports drop in Q1 net
06 May 2010
Transocean Ltd, now entangled in the oil spill accident in the Gulf of Mexico, on Thursday reported a net income in the first quarter of $677 million, down from $942 million a year earlier, amid lower revenues.
Revenues in the quarter weighed in at just over $2.6 billion, compared with $3.12 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
The world's largest offshore drilling contractor, which trades in New York and is also listed on the Zurich exchange, released the results after markets closed in the United States.
On Tuesday, representatives of BP and Transocean, which owns Deepwater Horizon - the oil rig that exploded last month in the Gulf of Mexico - briefed Congress behind closed doors about the extent of the damages and their containment measures.
In related documents to its first quarter reporting filed with the SEC, and made available on the Transocean Website, the drilling company said its underwriters declared the sunken rig a total loss and, as of 5 May, received $401 million as part payment of the expected insurance recoveries.
"There have also been numerous lawsuits filed related to the incident, and we expect additional lawsuits to be filed. We expect to incur significant legal fees and costs in responding to these matters," Transocean wrote to the US regulator.
