Vantage Drilling Posts a Surprise Profit

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Vantage Drilling (AMEX: VTG) reported earnings on Nov. 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Vantage Drilling met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share grew to zero. The non-GAAP profit was a surprise, as analysts had predicted a loss.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
 Vantage Drilling reported revenue of $111.5 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $110.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $93.2 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.01. The eight earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.03 per share. GAAP EPS shrank to zero from the prior-year quarter's -$0.04.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 53.4%, 2,810 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 32.6%, 390 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.5%, 1,230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $145.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.01.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $492.8 million. The average EPS estimate is -$0.07.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 182 members out of 193 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 44 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 38 give Vantage Drilling a green thumbs-up, and six give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Vantage Drilling is outperform, with an average price target of $2.22.

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The article Vantage Drilling Posts a Surprise Profit originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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