Mike, like I said: the boat co's have problems. Stick w/ the drillers:
Monday March 30, 7:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Hvide Marine Incorporated
Hvide Marine Expects Lower-Than-Forecast First Quarter Results
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Hvide Marine Incorporated (Nasdaq: HMAR - news) today announced that it expected earnings in the first quarter of 1998 (ending March 31) to be well ahead of the previous year's first quarter, when it had earnings of 33 cents per share, but approximately 25% below analysts' consensus estimates of 57 cents per share.
The Company attributed the shortfall to lower utilization rates in its offshore energy support business. Domestically, in the Gulf of Mexico, there were a high number of drydockings and unscheduled service interruptions. On the international side, utilization rates suffered from the start-up of new operations and the fact that a significant number of newly acquired vessels were out of service due to upgrading in preparation for new term contracts.
Day rates for all the Company's offshore vessels, both domestic and international, continue to show firmness, which indicates an improving performance in the quarters ahead as the Company continues the process of integrating new vessels into its fleet.
The Company's other business segments - offshore & harbor towing, chemical transportation and petroleum product transportation -- are meanwhile performing satisfactorily.
The Company is expected to announce actual first quarter results on May 6.
Statements contained in this press release relating to the 1998 first quarter and beyond are forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's reasonable judgment with respect to future events. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those anticipated as a result of various factors, including cyclical or other downturns in demand, unanticipated additions to industry capacity, changes in the Jones Act market and weather conditions. All forward-looking statements in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph.
With a growing fleet of 267 vessels in two core businesses, Hvide Marine (pronounced ''VEE-dah'') is one of the world's leading providers of marine support and transportation services, primarily to the energy and chemical industries. |
