Tidewater, which provides marine services to the oil and gas industry, had seen growing expenses--including high-priced fuel as well as interest costs--pressure its line. The company has been upgrading its fleet of vessels, which serves the international offshore energy industry.

 For the quarter ended June 30, Tidewater's profit rose to $32.9 million, or 65 cents a share, up from $24.6 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. The year-ago period included $6.3 million in settlement charges, a $3 million impairment charge related to a write-down to estimated fair market value of 11 vessels and related parts inventory.

 Revenue jumped 16% to $294.4 million. Vessel revenue climbed 15% to $290.1 million.

 Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently projected earnings of 60 cents a share on revenue of $293 million.

 Operating margin grew to 16.8% from 12.4%.

 Vessel operating costs grew 8.9% to $165.8 million, driven by higher crew costs repair and maintenance costs. The company's general and administrative costs climbed 8.2% to $40.7 million.

 Vessel revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa/Europe, which makes up 44% of total vessel revenue, grew 15% to $128.3 million. Its American vessels made up 27% of vessel revenue and declined to $77.7 million from $88.7 million. Asia/Pacific vessels and Middle East/North Africa vessels also posted increasing revenue.

 Average day rates for the worldwide fleet were up 14% from a year earlier, and worldwide fleet utilization rose to 68.4% from 61.5%.

 Shares closed Tuesday at $48.86 and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 3.1% in the past three months.

http://www.turkishmaritime.com.tr/

source: wallstreetjournal