Rowan 3Q profit dips 13 percent due to Ike

HOUSTON - Rowan Cos. said Tuesday its third-quarter net income fell 13 percent as Hurricane Ike battered the offshore contract drilling services company's Gulf Coast facilities.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the company posted net income of $114.4 million, or $1 per share, compared with net income of $130.8 million, or $1.16 per share, in the year-ago period.

The results include a gain of $21.4 million, or 12 cents per share, related to the sale of assets.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $527.1 million from $502.2 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $539.7 million. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

"Our third-quarter financial performance was impacted by Hurricane Ike, which caused the loss of our oldest offshore drilling rig, the Rowan-Anchorage, and significantly disrupted our Houston manufacturing operations," Chief Executive Danny McNease said in a statement. "Continuing weakness in capital markets and commodity prices will, eventually, affect customer demand for our products and services, though we have experienced little impact thus far."

Shares rose $2.16, or 11.7 percent, to $20.60 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $13.75 and $47.94 in the past 52 weeks.

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