OREANDA-NEWS. Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) today reported record fourth quarter and annual earnings for the periods ended December 31, 2014.

For the fourth quarter of 2014, Oceaneering earned net income of USD 102.5 million, or USD 0.99 per share, on revenue of USD 918.9 million. During the corresponding period in 2013, net income was USD 93.4 million, or USD 0.86 per share, on revenue of USD 894.8 million. For the year 2014, Oceaneering reported net income of USD 428.3 million, or USD 4.00 per share, on revenue of USD 3.7 billion. For the year 2013, net income was USD 371.5 million, or USD 3.42 per share, on revenue of USD 3.3 billion.

Quarterly earnings increased year over year due to profit improvements by Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), Subsea Projects, and Advanced Technologies. Annual earnings increased on the strength of best ever performances by our ROV, Subsea Products, and Subsea Projects business segments.

M. Kevin McEvoy, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Results for the fourth quarter and the year were exemplary as we achieved record EPS in each period. At USD 4.00 our EPS for 2014 was up 17% over 2013, and we realized the highest annual operating income margin in our history. These exceptional results are largely attributable to our global focus on deepwater and subsea completion activity and solid operational execution.

"We achieved record ROV operating income for the eleventh consecutive year on higher global demand to provide drill support and vessel-based services, an improvement in operating margin, and the expansion of our fleet. We increased our days on hire by nearly 6,700, to over 98,000 days for the year. Operating margin improved by more than 100 basis points to 30%, due largely to an increase in average revenue per day-on-hire and absence of any item similar to the USD 3.3 million charge incurred in 2013 to establish an allowance for doubtful accounts related to receivables from OGX Petroleo e Gas S.A. During 2014 we put 49 new ROVs into service and retired 17. At year end, we had 336 vehicles in our ROV fleet.

"Subsea Products annual operating income increased on higher demand for each of our major product lines, led by tooling. Products backlog at the end of 2014 was USD 690 million, down from an all-time high of USD 906 million at the end of 2013. This backlog decline was attributable to umbilicals.

"Subsea Projects annual operating income improved in 2014 on an increase in deepwater vessel service activity and the commencement of diving services offshore Angola.

"In 2014 we more than doubled our committed bank facilities to USD 800 million, consisting of a USD 500 million revolver and a USD 300 million three-year delayed-draw term loan, on which we have drawn USD 250 million. We also issued in November USD 500 million of ten-year senior notes through a public offering to add a layer of long-term debt to our balance sheet and achieve a more efficient capital structure.

"Total capital allocation spending was approximately USD 1.1 billion in 2014. We invested USD 387 million in organic capital expenditures and USD 40 million on acquisitions. We also paid USD 110 million of cash dividends and spent USD 590 million on the repurchase of 8.9 million shares of our common stock -approximately 8% of our shares outstanding at the end of 2013. Shares repurchased during the fourth quarter totaled 5.4 million at a cost of USD 354 million. We completed our 2010 stock repurchase program in mid-December, and our Board of Directors authorized a new 10 million share repurchase program. The cash dividends, share repurchases, and our new share repurchase program underscore our willingness to return cash to our shareholders and confidence in Oceaneering's financial strength and future business prospects.

"Heading into 2015 we are faced with a slowdown in deepwater activity attributable to the significant decline in the price of Brent crude oil since our last quarterly earnings release, and the growing prospect that this depressed oil price environment could be prolonged. This has led to announcements by our customers of reductions to their 2015 exploration and development expenditures, which have adversely impacted our earnings prospects. While work on most deepwater projects already approved and underway is likely to continue, the urgency to start new projects is in question until the commodity price environment stabilizes and improves.

"Compared to 2014, our revised 2015 forecast assumptions are that demand and pricing for many of the services and products we offer will be down. Consequently, we are projecting that all of our oilfield business segments will have lower operating income in 2015 than in 2014. We are resetting our 2015 EPS guidance to a range of USD 3.10 to USD 3.50 on an estimated number of 100.3 million diluted common shares outstanding. Our EPS range includes the impact of right-sizing and cost reduction initiatives we have underway. And, we will take further measures if demand falls short of our expected levels. For the first quarter of 2015, we are estimating EPS of USD 0.58 to USD 0.62.

"In spite of this revised outlook, we are confident that our liquidity and projected cash flow provide us with ample resources to continue investing in Oceaneering's future as opportunities arise and returning capital to our shareholders. At year end we had USD 431 million in cash and anticipate generating at least USD 725 million of EBITDA in 2015. For 2015 we are planning to reduce our organic capital expenditures to between USD 200 million and USD 250 million. And, as previously announced, we have an agreement to acquire C & C Technologies, Inc. (C&C) for approximately USD 230 million, which we expect to complete in April. C&C is a global provider of survey services, principally to the oil and gas industry in deepwater. We expect C&C to be accretive to our 2015 earnings and plan to include its results in our Subsea Projects segment.

"We remain convinced that our strategy to focus on providing services and products that facilitate deepwater exploration and production remains sound. Deepwater is expected to continue to play a critical role in global oil supply growth despite its large capital commitments, technical challenges, and the current commodity price environment. Therefore, we anticipate demand for our deepwater services and products will rebound and rise over time, and believe our long-term business prospects remain promising. We are well positioned to supply a wide range of the services and products required to safely support the deepwater efforts of our customers."