Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation reported a net loss of $21 million, or $0.13 per share, for the third quarter of 2025. This compares to a net income of $61 million in Q3 2024 and $43 million in Q2 2025.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.19, down from $0.58 year-on-year but up from $0.13 sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $254 million.
Total revenue was $798 million, slightly down from $801 million in Q3 2024. Contract drilling services revenue decreased to $757 million from $812 million in the prior quarter, primarily due to lower rig utilisation, which stood at 65 per cent for the marketed fleet compared to 73 per cent in Q2. Net cash provided by operating activities was $277 million, and free cash flow was $139 million.
Despite the quarterly dip in earnings, Noble highlighted significant contracting success, adding approximately $740 million in new contract value since its last fleet status report. This pushed the total backlog up to $7 billion as of October 27, 2025.
Key awards included two-year contract extensions for the drillships Noble BlackLion and Noble BlackHornet with BP in the US Gulf of Mexico, each valued at $310 million. The Noble Venturer secured a one-well contract in Ghana at a dayrate of $450,000, and the jackup Noble Resolute was awarded a one-year contract in the North Sea.
Robert W. Eifler, President and CEO of Noble, stated, “We achieved solid operational performance and cash flow in the third quarter, while several key contract awards have enabled Noble to expand backlog compared to prior quarter and year ago levels.” He noted recent dayrate fixtures for Tier-1 drillships remained in the low to mid $400,000s.
Noble narrowed its full-year 2025 guidance, now expecting total revenue between $3.225 billion and $3.275 billion, and adjusted EBITDA between $1.1 billion and $1.125 billion.
The company declared a fourth-quarter cash dividend of $0.50 per share, bringing total 2025 shareholder capital returns to $340 million. Eifler expressed confidence in a deepwater utilisation recovery by late 2026 or early 2027, supported by the recent backlog expansion.
