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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (20327)	4/24/1998 7:36:00 PM
From: Shelia Jones	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

You asked, here's the good news from RDC Rowan Cos on target for $2.50 EPS in 1998 HOUSTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Offshore driller Rowan Cos. Inc. is on target to reach its goal of $850 million in revenues and earnings per share of $2.50 for 1998, chairman Bob Palmer said on Friday. He also said that offshore exploration activity was strong and that, as a result, he expected day rates for drilling rigs to rise in the second quarter. ''We feel reasonably confident we're going to hit our target of $850 million in revenue and $2.50 a share,'' Palmer told Reuters after the company's annual meeting. The company earned $1.65 a share on revenues of $695 million last year. Rowan got an averate rate of $62,000 a day for its offshore rigs in the first quarter, but Palmer said rig utilization continues to be strong which should push prices up. ''The average day rate for the second quarter is going to be higher than for the first quarter as near as we can tell at this moment,'' he said. Palmer said it was too early to guess how much the rate would increase. He said lower oil prices had caused some firms to cut back on drilling, but that had been offset by increased exploration for natural gas, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, where virtually the entire available rig fleet was in use. ''Most of the jack-up drilling (in the Gulf of Mexico) is for natural gas anyway, and the price of natural gas is higher than anybody expected,'' Palmer said. Rowan, like all the offshore drilling firms, went through a long downswing after oil prices collapsed in the early 1980s. Dayrates plummeted and many rigs sat idle because rig supply far outstripped demand. Now the situation has turned. ''Rowan has survived a lot of busts and we're looking forward to enjoying this boom for a long, long time,'' Palmer said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: Rowan Cos Inc (NYSE:RDC - news) Related News Categories: US Market News