Rowan Gets Go-Ahead for Share Repurchase Program

- Rowan Gets Go-Ahead for Share Repurchase Program

Monday, August 08, 2011
Rowan Companies Inc.

Rowan's board of directors has authorized the Company to repurchase up to $100 million in shares of its common stock.

Matt Ralls, Rowan's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This share repurchase program is an expression of confidence in Rowan's long-term future and ability to continue to create shareholder value."

This program is effective immediately. Repurchases under this program will be made through the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. These repurchases may be commenced or suspended from time to time without prior notice.

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Rowan 2Q Earnings Jump on LeTourneau Sale

- Rowan 2Q Earnings Jump on LeTourneau Sale

Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Rowan Companies Inc.

For the three months ended June 30, 2011, Rowan Companies, generated net income from continuing operations of $44.4 million or $0.35 per share, compared to $83.4 million or $0.73 per share in the second quarter of 2010.

Income from continuing operations during the second quarter of 2011 included a $6.1 million pre-tax charge related to litigation settlement and $1.4 million of gains on asset disposals, for a net reduction of $4.7 million or $0.03 per share after tax. The second quarter 2010 results included a $4.5 million pre-tax charge for the expected cost to terminate the Company's agency agreement in Mexico, or $0.02 per share after tax.

Income from discontinued manufacturing and land drilling operations totaled $421.5 million in the second quarter of 2011 or $3.30 per share, including the after-tax gain on the sale of LeTourneau of $424.5 million, compared to $7.5 million or $0.07 per share in the second quarter of 2010. The after-tax cash proceeds from the sale of LeTourneau are estimated to be approximately $865 million.

Net income totaled $465.9 million or $3.65 per share in the second quarter of 2011, compared to $90.9 million or $0.79 per share in the second quarter of 2010.

Rowan's offshore drilling revenues were $223.5 million in the second quarter of 2011, compared to $282.2 million in the second quarter of 2010, as the impact of lower average day rates more than offset higher activity resulting from rig fleet additions between periods. The Company's gross offshore drilling margin was 53% of revenues in the second quarter of 2011, down from 63% in the prior-year quarter.

Matt Ralls, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Over the past three months, we made substantial progress on several strategic fronts. We completed the sale of our manufacturing business and reached an agreement to sell our land drilling division, enabling us to focus exclusively on our core offshore drilling business. We significantly expanded the future growth prospects of that business by ordering two ultra-deepwater drillships that we believe will be the most capable in the global fleet upon delivery. Our first two N-class jack-up rigs commenced operations in the North Sea in June and we achieved our objective of entering the important Southeast Asia market with commitments starting later this year in Malaysia and Vietnam – Rowan's first work in that area in almost two decades. Further, over the past three months we increased our backlog of drilling revenue commitments by 67% to $2.6 billion.

"Our financial performance during the second quarter was significantly impacted by the effects of rig start-ups, several of which have occurred or will occur later than we expected due largely to delays related to more rigorous customer acceptance tests and regulatory approval processes and civil unrest in the Middle East."

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Rowan Names New COO, Senior VP

- Rowan Names New COO, Senior VP

Monday, August 01, 2011

Rowan announced that Thomas P. Burke has been appointed to serve as the Company's Chief Operating Officer, and Melanie M. Trent has been appointed to serve as Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary.

Matt Ralls, Rowan's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are delighted to announce these two new positions with the Company. I believe Tom's strong qualifications and leadership will help ensure Rowan's continued success, as we seek to further grow and diversify our offshore drilling business. While at LeTourneau, Tom successfully implemented many organizational and operational improvements, and was a key factor in the sale of that business to Joy Global. Likewise, Melanie provided invaluable leadership in our recent divestiture processes and will strengthen both our Human Resources and Information Technology efforts with her strong organization skills. I am confident that these two appointments will be great additions to the strong Rowan management team and look forward to Tom and Melanie's contributions to Rowan's future success."

Mr. Burke, who joined the Company in December 2009, previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company's manufacturing subsidiary, LeTourneau Technologies, Inc., which was sold to Joy Global in June 2011. Prior to such time, he was employed by Complete Production Services, an oilfield services company, as a Division President from 2006 to 2009, and as Vice President Corporate Development from 2004 to 2006. Before joining Complete Production, Mr. Burke held various positions at Schlumberger Limited and McKinsey & Company.

Ms. Trent joined the Company in 2005 and served most recently as Vice President & Corporate Secretary, assisting in the Company's securities, corporate governance and transactional legal work.

Rowan also announced that David Russell, Executive Vice President of Drilling Operations, is leaving the Company to pursue other interests. Mr. Ralls said, "I respect David's decision to pursue other opportunities, but I am very sorry to see him leave. David has been with Rowan nearly 29 years and has been instrumental as a senior executive in the company's success and evolution. His leadership and many contributions will be sorely missed. Speaking for the Board of Directors and myself, I want to extend heartfelt gratitude to David for all he's done for Rowan and wish him continued success in his future endeavors."

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Rowan Parts with Land Drilling Division

- Rowan Parts with Land Drilling Division

Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Rowan Companies Inc.

Rowan has entered into a purchase and sale agreement (the "Agreement") with Ensign United States Drilling (S.W.) Inc., a subsidiary of Ensign Energy Services Inc.("Ensign"), to sell Rowan's land drilling division for $510 million in cash, plus working capital of approximately $30 million. The Agreement is subject only to regulatory approval, which the Company expects to obtain within 60 days.

Matt Ralls, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Ensign, as we continue to execute our stated strategy to separate non-core businesses. We expect that our after-tax proceeds, estimated at approximately $370 million, will be redeployed into our offshore drilling business and recently announced deepwater expansion. We believe our high-specification land rig fleet will be a strong addition to Ensign's global fleet of over 300 land rigs, and that our land division employees will have significant opportunities with such a large and well-respected operation. I want to personally thank all of the land division employees for their dedication and service over the years as part of the Rowan family, and wish them the best in their careers with Ensign."

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Talisman to Use Rowan Jackup at Yme Field

- Talisman to Use Rowan Jackup at Yme Field

Thursday, June 23, 2011
Petroleum Safety Authority Norway

Talisman has received consent to use the Rowan Stavanger mobile facility as a temporary living quarters facility on the Yme field.

The consent relates to use of temporary living quarters in the cold phase, before hydrocarbons are introduced on Yme MOPUStor.

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Hyundai Heavy Secures $1.12B Drillship Order for Rowan

- Hyundai Heavy Secures $1.12B Drillship Order for Rowan

Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.

Hyundai Heavy said it clinched a $1.12 billion order to build two drillships for drilling contractor Rowan Companies Inc. on May 31. This contract also includes an option exercisable by Rowan to order an additional same class drillship.

The vessels, measuring 229 meters in length and 36 meters in width, are rated for operations in water 12,000 ft (3,657 m) deep. They are scheduled to be delivered by the second half of 2013.

Winning this order brings Hyundai Heavy's total drillship new orders this year to 9, worth USD 5 billion with options to build three more drillships. This is the most drillships of any shipbuilder in the world.

The drillships will be equipped with a thruster canister, saving time in maintenance and operating costs. A thruster canister is housing for the thruster, which helps keep the ship in position while it is drilling. Ships with a canister do not need to be drydocked for maintenance as the thruster can be lifted onto the ship when work needs to be carried out.

Drillships Hyundai Heavy builds use the drillship-specific Gusto P10000 design making the best use of vessel space for drilling. The design helps stabilize the drillship while operating and uses less fuel by making thrusters operate less. A position controlling system, a computer propulsion system, and seven blowout preventers will also be installed in the drillships to enhance safety.

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Rowan Redirects Focus on Offshore Drilling with $1.1B Sale of LeTourneau

Rowan Redirects Focus on Offshore Drilling with $1.1B Sale of LeTourneau

Monday, May 16, 2011
Rowan Companies Inc.

Rowan Companies has entered into a share purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with Joy Global to sell all shares of common stock held by Rowan in LeTourneau Technologies for $1.1 billion in cash. The Agreement is subject only to regulatory approval, which the Company expects to obtain within 60 days.

Matt Ralls, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Joy to monetize our investment in LeTourneau. This transaction is consistent with our stated strategy to separate non-core businesses, and we expect that most of the after-tax proceeds, estimated at approximately $875 million, will ultimately be redeployed into our offshore drilling business, either through continued growth of our high-spec jack-up fleet or expansion into the ultra-deepwater drilling segment.

"We also expect this transaction to create additional opportunities for LeTourneau and its employees, who will become part of an organization that is focused on manufacturing and will continue to encourage further innovations in both the mining equipment and drilling systems businesses. I want to personally thank the LeTourneau management team for the many organizational and operational improvements they have made in the company and their invaluable assistance in reaching an agreement with Joy. I likewise want to thank all of the LeTourneau employees for their dedication and service over the years as part of the Rowan family."

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