Nabors 1Q Profit Shrinks On Bad Hedges

The Associated Press

Nabors Industries Ltd. on Tuesday said its first-quarter profit fell by nearly 41 percent as a write-down tied to commodity price hedges offset strong international results for the Bermuda-based oil and gas drilling company.

Nabors reported net income for the three months ended March 31 of nearly $125.2 million, or 44 cents per share, down from a profit of $212 million, or 74 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Among various one-time items, the company recorded a non-cash, pretax write-down of $75 million against the value of one of its oil and gas ventures, based on commodity prices on March 31. ...