Item 2. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
Forward-Looking Information
The statements included in this quarterly report regarding future financial performance and results of operations and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States (“U.S.”) Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements in this quarterly report include, but are not limited to, statements about the following subjects:
◾the effect, impact, potential duration, the rate of any economic recovery or other implications of the outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and disputes and actions with respect to production levels by, among or between major oil and gas producing countries and any expectations we may have with respect thereto;
◾our results of operations, our revenue efficiency and other performance indicators; optimization of rig-based spending and our cash flow from operations;
◾the offshore drilling market, including the effects of declines in commodity prices, supply and demand, utilization rates, dayrates, customer drilling programs, stacking and reactivation of rigs, effects of new rigs on the market, the impact of changes to regulations in jurisdictions in which we operate and changes in the global economy or market outlook for the various geographies in which we operate or for our classes of rigs;
◾customer drilling contracts, including contract backlog, force majeure provisions, contract awards, commencements, extensions, terminations, renegotiations, contract option exercises, contract revenues, early termination payments, indemnity provisions and rig mobilizations;
◾liquidity, including availability under our bank credit agreement, and adequacy of cash flows for our obligations;
◾debt levels, including impacts of the current financial and economic downturn, interest rates and our evaluation or decisions with respect to any potential liability management transactions or other strategic alternatives intended to prudently manage our liquidity, debt maturities and other aspects of our capital structure and any litigation, alleged defaults and discussions with creditors related thereto;
◾newbuild, upgrade, shipyard and other capital projects, including completion, relinquishment or abandonment, delivery and commencement of operation dates, expected downtime and lost revenue, the level of expected capital expenditures and the timing and cost of completion of capital projects;
◾the cost and timing of acquisitions and the proceeds and timing of dispositions;
◾tax matters, including our effective tax rate, changes in tax laws, treaties and regulations, tax assessments and liabilities for tax issues, including those associated with our activities in Brazil, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), the U.S., Canada, Angola, and India, among other jurisdictions;
◾legal and regulatory matters, including results and effects of current or potential legal proceedings and governmental audits and assessments, outcomes and effects of internal and governmental investigations, customs and environmental matters;
◾stock exchange matters, and the outcomes and effects related thereto;
◾insurance matters, including adequacy of insurance, renewal of insurance, insurance proceeds and cash investments of our wholly owned captive insurance company;
◾effects of accounting changes and adoption of accounting policies; and
◾investment in recruitment, retention and personnel development initiatives, defined benefit pension plan contributions, the timing of severance payments and benefit payments.
Forward-looking statements in this quarterly report are identifiable by use of the following words and other similar expressions:
| anticipates | | budgets | | estimates | | forecasts | | may | | plans | | projects | | should |
| believes | | could | | expects | | intends | | might | | predicts | | scheduled | | |
Such statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to:
◾the effects of public health threats, pandemics and epidemics, such as the outbreak of COVID-19, and the adverse impact thereof on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including, but not limited to, our growth, operating costs, supply chain, labor availability, logistical capabilities, customer demand for our services and industry demand generally, our liquidity, the price of our securities and trading markets with respect thereto, our ability to access capital markets, and the global economy and financial markets generally;
◾our ability to comply with the continued listing criteria of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), any actions we may take to retain or regain compliance with such standards, and risks arising from the potential suspension of trading of our shares on that exchange;
◾the effects of actions by, or disputes among or between, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil and natural gas producing countries with respect to production levels or other matters related to the prices of oil and natural gas;
◾the adequacy of and access to our sources of liquidity;
◾our inability to renew drilling contracts at comparable dayrates and our inability to obtain drilling contracts for our rigs that do not have contracts;
◾operational performance;
◾the cancellation of drilling contracts currently included in our reported contract backlog;
◾losses on impairment of long-lived assets;
◾shipyard, construction and other delays;
◾the results of meetings of our shareholders;
◾changes in political, social and economic conditions;
◾the effect and results of litigation, regulatory matters, settlements, audits, assessments and contingencies; and
◾other factors discussed in this quarterly report and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available free of charge on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
The foregoing risks and uncertainties are beyond our ability to control, and in many cases, we cannot predict the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, each of which speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. We expressly disclaim any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations or beliefs with regard to the statement or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based, except as required by law.