TheUS-listed drillship owner said net income came in at $22.2m versus the $15mseen twelve months earlier.
Earningsper share (EPS) were 10 US cents beating a consensus of analyst’s estimates of9 US cents per share.
Revenue for the three months ended 31 March 2014were $225.6m compared to $175m for the same period last year.
“Wedelivered our fifth consecutive quarter of increasing revenue,” PacificDrilling chief executive Chris Beckett said in a statement.
“Cashflow from operations reached a new high, and ebitda exceeded $100m for thefirst time. However, we have room to improve.
“Duringthe first quarter, the challenges of starting operations with the PacificKhamsin were greater than we anticipated and resulted in a reduction to revenueand ebitda.”
Regardingthe market for ultra-deepwater drillships, Beckett said that the company saw “anincrease in bidding activity” compared to the previous quarter; but thisactivity has yet to translate into signed contracts.
“Althoughthere are very few modern, high-specification ultra-deepwater rigs available,we expect 2014 to continue to be a challenging market,” he said.
“Thereare many older fifth-generation rigs, which we expect will provide lower-pricedcompetition on some projects.
“In an effort to minimize the impact of theselower-specification units on our dayrates, we are focusing on opportunitiesthat require the newest and highest-specification rigs.”
Pacific Drilling operates five drillships and has three furtherdrillships under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries
