Bermuda-based drilling rig contractor Nabors Industries on Thursday forecast first-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations due to lower-than-expected rig activity and higher costs.
The company sees quarterly net income in a range of 80 cents to 85 cents a share, compared with the $1.01 consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
"Our reduced first-quarter outlook is primarily attributable to lower-than-expected rig activity in our U.S. Lower 48 land drilling, Canadian and U.S. well-servicing units, combined with higher costs associated with startup and moving delays in our international and U.S. offshore segments," Chairman and Chief Executive Gene Isenberg said in a statement.
Costs related to a review of the company's options granting practices and other miscellaneous items also weighed on quarterly results, he added.