M. Kevin McEvoy
Analyst · Dahlman Rose
Good morning, and thanks for joining the call. It is a pleasure to be here today. But before I get into my customary opening remarks, I'd like to summarize 3 key points addressed in our earnings release. First, 2011 was a record earnings year for Oceaneering. Second, we are expecting an even better 2012 and are not changing our previously announced EPS guidance range for the year of $2.45 to $2.65. And third, we are initiating first quarter 2012 EPS guidance of $0.44 to $0.46. We recognize that may appear a little light to some of you. At this time of the year, we always seem to need to remind the investment community of the seasonality of our business especially in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. We usually earn about 19% of our net income in the first quarter and 45% in the first half of the year. Our first quarter guidance is consistent with our historical quarterly earnings distribution. Now, for my opening remarks. Our 2011 earnings of over $235 million and EPS of $2.16 were the highest in Oceaneering's history. These were notable accomplishments, particularly in light of regulatory-constrained activity the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This performance was largely attributable to our global focus on deepwater and Subsea completion activity. Our results were highlighted by best-ever operating income from our ROV and Subsea Products segments. At $484 million, our 2011 EBITDA was also a record high. In May, we initiated the regular quarterly dividend of $0.15 per common share to return a portion of our earnings to our shareholders, which underscores our confidence in Oceaneering's financial strength and future business prospects. We believe this will not compromise our ability to pursue organic growth and acquisition opportunities to expand Oceaneering's asset base and earnings capability. In fact, during the year, we continue to fund these opportunities at a record-setting pace. Our 2011 capital expenditures of about $525 million were nearly 2.5x what we invested on average during each of the previous 5 years. Our investment in acquisitions is at around $290 million, was 3x what we spent in total on acquisitions during the 2006 through 2010 period. In addition to our capital expenditures, during 2011, we repurchased 500,000 shares of our common stock for $17.5 million and paid $48.7 million of common stock dividends. Our balance sheet remained conservatively capitalized. At year end, we had over $100 million of cash, $120 million of debt, $180 million available under our revolving credit facility and $1.6 billion of equity. We are forecasting our 2012 EPS to be in the range of $2.45 to $2.65, up 18% at the midpoint over 2011 as we expect another record earnings year. For our services and products, we anticipate continued international demand growth and a moderate rebound in overall activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The price of Oceaneering stock rose by 25% during 2011. We believe this was in recognition of our record financial performance, actions we took to enhance shareholder value and our future business prospects. Our share price percentage increase was larger than any of the other companies in the OSX, which by comparison declined 12%. Our annual year end share price change has outperformed the OSX in 8 of the past 10 years. Over this decade, our stock price has increased on average 32% per year, twice that of the OSX. During 2011, our market capitalization reached $5 billion. This was a great way to start my tenure as President and CEO and I recognize and thank our employees who made this possible. Their commitment to safely provide high-quality solutions to our customers' needs is the foundation for our continued success. I'd now like to review our operations for the fourth quarter. Our overall fourth quarter EPS result was slightly above our guidance range on the strength of higher-than-forecast demand for our diving and deepwater vessel services in the Gulf of Mexico. EPS of $0.54 for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 23% above that of the fourth quarter of 2010, largely due to improvements in ROV and Subsea Products operating income. Year-over-year, fourth quarter ROV operating income rose by over $10 million or 21% on a 12% increase in days on hire and an 8% increase in operating income per day on hire. The increase in operating income per day on hire was attributable to a favorable change in geographic mix. About 75% of the growth in days on hire occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa, both of which are high rate and margin areas of operation. Our fleet utilization overall improved from 73% to 79%. We achieved operating income growth in all of the major market areas in which we operate, led by an improvement in the Gulf of Mexico. During the quarter, we put 5 vehicles into service. Our fleet mix usage during the fourth quarter was 79% in drill support and 21% on vessel-based work. At the time of our last earnings call, in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, we were receiving full rates for 25 ROVs on 22 rigs, all of which were working and 0 rate on one ROV on one rig which was not contracted. As of yesterday, we were on full rate for 29 ROVs on 25 rigs, all of which were working. There are presently 26 floating rigs available for use in the Gulf and we have ROVs on all but one of them. There are 8 known additional rigs currently scheduled to come into the Gulf by the middle of this year, and we have the ROV contracts for 6 of the 8. 2 are existing rigs and 6 our new builds. So by mid-2012, we anticipate there will be 34 rigs available for use in the Gulf of Mexico and we expect to have ROVs on 31 of them. By comparison, we have ROVs on 31 of the 36 rigs in the Gulf pre-Macondo. There have been announcements of another 2 new build deepwater rigs being contracted to work on this area commencing in the fourth quarter of 2012. We have secured the ROV drill support contract for one of these rigs and are pursuing the other. Now, turning to Subsea Products. Year-over-year, fourth quarter operating income increased by $5 million or 16% on better umbilical plant throughput, higher installation and work over control systems services and growth in demand for our subsea hardware and tooling. As for the remaining business operations for the fourth quarter, year-over-year, Asset Integrity operating income improved on higher international demand for our services. Advanced Technologies operating income rose on higher demand to perform engineering services for the U.S. Navy and an increase in Department of Defense manufacturing projects. Subsea Projects operating income declined due to lower demand for our services in the Gulf of Mexico. In late December, we acquired for $220 million AGR Field Operations Holdings, a provider of Asset Integrity, Maintenance, Subsea Engineering and Field Operation Services, primarily to the oil and gas industry. AGR FO will significantly increase our Asset Integrity business, particularly in Norway and provides us subsea inspection tooling we can offer in other geographic markets. As a result of this acquisition, we increased our 2012 EPS guidance range by $0.10 per share. Also in December, we secured a 3-year field support vessel services contract from BP for work offshore Angola which commenced on the 1st of February, 2012. Under the contract, project management, engineering and 2 chartered vessels each equipped with 2 Oceaneering work class ROVs and associated tooling, will be supplied. This contract represents a significant geographic expansion with considerable backlog for our Subsea Projects business. The expected impact of the work we will be performing under this contact was included in our 2012 EPS guidance at the time of our last earnings call. While the contract started at the beginning of this month, the scope of work performed will expand gradually during the first half of the year. I'd now like to review our operations for the year. Our 2011 annual EPS increase was highlighted by record operating income performances from our ROV and Subsea Products businesses. Year-over-year, our ROV operating income rose for the eighth consecutive year to nearly $225 million, up $13 million despite lower demand in the Gulf of Mexico for vessel-based services. This was accomplished by increasing our days on hire to nearly 73,000. We're quite proud of this accomplishment. During the year, we grew our fleet to 267 vehicles, up from 260 at the beginning of the year. We added 24 vehicles, retired 16 older systems and transferred the use of one to our Advanced Technologies business unit for non-oilfield use. In 2011, 29 new floating drilling rigs were placed in service and we had ROVs on 12 of them, with 2 on 2 rigs, for a total of 14 vehicles. At year-end, we estimate that we continue to be the largest ROV owner with 35% of the industry's world-class vehicles, 2/3 more than the size of the next largest ROV fleet. We remain the primary provider of ROV drill support service with an estimated market share of 60%, 3 times that of the second largest supplier. Operating margin declined at 30% from 32% in 2010, due to a reduction in work in the Gulf of Mexico. Our Subsea Products operating income increased by nearly $34 million or 37% to a record $142 million. This was accomplished on better umbilical plant throughput, higher installation work over control systems services and growth in demand for our subsea hardware and tooling. Operating margin declined 18% from 20% in 2010 due to a change in product mix. Umbilical revenue as a percent of our total products revenue in 2011 was 35% compared to around 30% in 2010. Our year-end Subsea Products backlog of $382 million was nearly the same as at the end of 2010. The product line mix of the backlog did change as it now notably includes more tooling and less umbilicals. While our umbilical backlog declined year-over-year, we are confident that we should secure the necessary contracts which are awarded intermittently to meet our 2012 plan for this product outline. Asset Integrity operating income improved in 2011 on the strength of higher service demand in Europe and Central Asia. AdTech results were similar to those of 2010 and Subsea Projects profit decreased due to lower demand for our services in the Gulf of Mexico. In summary, we believe our annual 2011 earnings performance and cash generation were excellent, particularly in light of the weak market conditions for our non-drill support offerings in the Gulf of Mexico. During the year, we continue to invest for the company's future earnings capability. Our capital expenditures totaled about $525 million, of which around $290 million was for acquisitions, including $220 million in December for AGR FO and $50 million in March for Norse Cutting and Abandonment. Our organic growth investments totaled approximately $235 million which included upgrading and expanding our ROV fleet and completing the conversion of the Ocean Patriot to a dynamically-positioned saturation diving vessel. We also made investments in ROV tooling, Installation and Workover Control Systems equipment and modifications to increase throughput at our Brazil umbilical manufacturing facility. Now let's talk about our 2012 EPS outlook. Looking forward, we are reaffirming our 2012 EPS guidance with a range of $2.45 to $2.65, based on an average of 109 million diluted shares and an estimated tax rate of 31.5%. The big picture of the annual 2012 versus 2011 changes we envision occurring could be summarized as follows: ROV operating income is projected to grow on the strength of an increase in days on hire as we benefit from an increase in demand off West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico and continued to expand our fleet. We anticipate adding 20 to 25 vehicles to our fleet in 2012 and retiring from 4 to 6. For West Africa, we are anticipating an increase in ROV demand for both drill support and vessel-based services in 2012 compared to 2011. For the Gulf of Mexico, we are projecting an increase in ROV demand for drill support services as more rigs go to work in this area. We're projecting that for 2012, our days on hire will increase and then our fleet utilization rate will improve to 80% or more. Subsea Products operating income is forecast to be higher on the strength of higher tooling sales and increased throughput at our umbilical plants. We do foresee a challenging Gulf of Mexico umbilical market for our Panama City plant due to the aftereffects of the drilling moratorium in 2010 and 2011. Subsea Projects profit is expected to improve on an international expansion of our deepwater vessel project capabilities to work for BP offshore Angola and a gradual recovery in the Gulf of Mexico. Our Asset Integrity segment profit contribution is forecast to be significantly higher due to the contribution of the newly-acquired operations and increased use of associated subsea technology and tools. Advanced Technologies performance is expected to increase mainly due to an increase in entertainment projects and improved execution on U.S. Navy vessel service work. Unallocated expenses are estimated to be slightly higher. At the midpoint of our guidance range, we would expect our overall operating margin in 2012 to be about 15%, the same as it was in 2011. We're expecting Subsea Projects margin will substantially decline in 2012 as 2011 results include the $18-plus million gain on the sale of the Ocean Legend. Excluding this gain, we are anticipating Subsea Projects margin in 2012 will improve over that of 2011. We are not anticipating any big changes in the rest of our segment operating margins in 2012 compared to 2011. It does seem likely however, the ROV margin may improve somewhat as the result of more activity in the Gulf of Mexico and higher fleet utilization overall. Subsea Products margin may be slightly lower due to expected change in product mix. For 2012, we anticipate generating over $550 million of EBITDA. Our balance sheet and projected cash flow provide us with ample resources to invest in Oceaneering's growth. Our preliminary CapEx estimate for next year, excluding acquisitions, is $200 million to $225 million. Of this amount, approximately $125 million is anticipated to be spent on vehicle upgrades and adding systems to our fleet, about $75 million is for enhancing our Subsea Products' capabilities. Our focus on 2012 will be on earnings growth and investment opportunities, both organically and through acquisitions. Moving on to our first quarter outlook, our EPS guidance range is $0.44 to $0.46. This is consistent with the fact that our first quarter earnings are customarily lower than the fourth quarter of the previous year. At the midpoint, this would equate to 18% of the $2.55 midpoint of our annual guidance range. This is within our historical first quarter percentage range. Over the last 10 years, we have averaged 19% of our earnings in the first quarter, with the typical band of 17% to 21% for any particular year. Our first quarter 2012 guidance at the midpoint is up 15% compared to the first quarter of 2011. We expect all of our business segments to achieve higher operating income, led by a strong first quarter profit contribution from ROVs. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, our first quarter guidance is lower based on anticipated reductions in operating income from Subsea Products, Subsea Projects and AdTech. Looking beyond 2012, we remain convinced that our strategy to focus on providing services and products that facilitate deepwater exploration and production remains sound. We believe the oil and gas industry will continue to invest in deepwater, as it remains one of the best frontiers for adding large hydrocarbon reserves, with high production flow rates at relatively low finding and development costs. Our recent industry report forecast total annual worldwide exploration and development spending to grow nearly 50% by 2015, while capital expenditures on deepwater projects are projected to more than double. Therefore, we anticipate that demand for our deepwater services and products will continue to rise and believe our business prospects for the next several years are promising. At the end of December, there were 68 new floating rigs on order. 45 of these are planned to be available by the end of 2013. 28 have been contracted long term for an average of 7 years. Of the 28 contracted floating rigs, operators have let ROV contracts on 14 and we have won 7. So that leaves 54 ROV contracting opportunities for new rigs left to be pursued, of which 14 have operator contracts and 40 do not. If all the rigs on order are placed into service, the global floating rig fleet size will grow 24% to 352 rigs. The high-spec fleet consisting of fifth- and sixth-generation semis and dynamically positioned drill ships which currently totals 113 rigs will grow 60%. We historically have had a high market share on the high-spec rigs and are currently on 72% of them. Looking forward, we see no reason why we will not continue to be the dominant provider of ROV services on these rigs. Each additional floating rig represents an opportunity for us to put another ROV to work and drill support service. As the use of floating rigs grows, we believe it is inevitable that discoveries will eventually drive orders for subsea hardware to levels not previously experienced. And demand for ROVs to support vessel-based activities will follow. Quest offshore's latest subsea hardware forecast for the period 2011 to '15 includes a 58% increase in tree orders over the previous 5 years, in 2012 subsea tree orders are projected to be 618, an all-time high eclipsing the previous record of 462 trees in 2006. While we don't make trees, orders for subsea trees do drive demand for a substantial amount of the ancillary subsea production hardware that we manufacture. For example, Quest is forecasting a 57% increase in umbilical orders for the 2011 to 2015 period. Furthermore, renewed industry and regulatory emphasis on safe and reliable operations is generating even more interest in our value sell. With our existing assets, we're well positioned to supply a wide range of the services and products required to support the safe deepwater efforts of our customers. We believe Oceaneering's business prospects for the long term remain promising. Our commanding competitive position, technology leadership, and strong balance sheet and cash flow enable us to continue to grow the company and we intend to do so. In summary, our results continue to demonstrate our ability to generate excellent earnings and cash flow. We believe our business strategy is working well, both the long-term and the short-term. We like our competitive position in the 2012 oilfield services market and are leveraged to what we believe will be the resumption in growth of deepwater and subsea completion activity commencing this year. The longer-term market outlook for our deepwater and subsea service and product offerings remains favorable. Renewed industry and regulatory emphasis on reliable equipment and redundant safety features of deepwater operations has caused our customers to be even more focused on risk reduction. This elevates the importance of the utility and reliability of our ROV services and related product line offerings and reinforces the benefit of our value sell. For 2012, we're anticipating that we will achieve another record year of EPS performance. We think this distinguishes Oceaneering for many other oilfield service companies. In closing, we appreciate everyone's interest in Oceaneering. And I will now be happy to take any questions you may have.