Onshore drilling contractor Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit grew 17 percent, but the company missed analyst estimates because of a decline in drilling activities.
Quarterly earnings rose to $156.3 million, or 97 cents per share, from $134.2 million, or 77 cents per share, in the prior-year period.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $1.03 per share.
Investors were expecting the company to miss Wall Street's estimate since the company in January projected quarterly earnings of 95 cents to $1 per share. Patterson-UTI had blamed the low guidance on a decline in oil drilling activity.
Revenue rose 20 percent to $638.4 million from $531.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Analysts predicted revenue of $657.4 million.
Contract drilling revenues were up 20 percent from the 2005 quarter but Chief Executive Cloyce A. Talbott said the number of rigs operating had declined by 11 from the company's third quarter ending Sept. 30.
'Our contract drilling results for the fourth quarter reflect the effects of warmer-than-normal temperatures during the winter months of calendar 2006, which resulted in high levels of natural gas storage in the U.S. and decreases in natural gas prices,' said Talbott in a statement. 'Customers of North American land drillers have reacted by postponing projects and reducing their drilling activities over the last several months of 2006 and continuing into the first quarter of 2007.'
For the full year, profit grew 81 percent to $673.3 million, or $4.02 per share, from $372.7 million, or $2.15 per share in the prior year. Revenue climbed 46 percent to $2.55 billion from $1.74 billion in 2005.
Patterson-UTI shares fell 27 cents to $23.25 in electronic premarket trading. The shares closed at $23.52 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press.
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