EXHIBIT 99.1
[Cal Dive International Logo] PRESS RELEASE
www.caldive.com
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Cal Dive International, Inc. - 400 N. Sam Houston Parkway E., Suite 400
Houston, TX 77060-3500 - 281-618-0400 - fax: 281-618-0505
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 03-015
CONTACT: JIM NELSON
DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2003 TITLE: VICE CHAIRMAN
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CAL DIVE THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS TRIPLE FROM PRIOR YEAR
HOUSTON, TX - Cal Dive International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDIS) reported third quarter
net income applicable to common shares of $8.9 million or 24 cents per diluted
share. Comparable net income a year ago was $2.9 million or 8 cents per diluted
share. Third quarter revenues of $104 million increased by $20 million or 24%
due to improved oil and gas commodity prices and increased production related to
property acquisitions in the second half of last year.
Owen Kratz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive, stated, "Oil and
gas operations contributed 33% of third quarter revenues, a level targeted when
we began implementation of our business model a decade ago. The quarter also
highlighted that Cal Dive is producing what we believe are among the best
returns on capital invested in oil and gas properties and production facilities
in the industry.
"Third quarter utilization of our marine contracting vessels was 72%, up from
61% a year ago, in a 2003 market characterized by significant excess capacity,"
Mr. Kratz continued. "Such relatively high levels of utilization are due to
CDI's ability to market our DP vessels globally and to our production partnering
strategy. Fleet utilization should remain solid during the fourth quarter as a
number of our DP vessels will be involved in the commissioning of the deepwater
Gunnison and Marco Polo fields.
"Cal Dive is poised to realize a return on a quarter of a billion dollars of
Gunnison and Marco Polo investments beginning in 2004. The earnings visibility
and cash flow provided by our oil and gas activities buffer the uncertainty
surrounding the timing of a recovery in the marine contracting businesses."
Nine month revenues of $295 million increased $84 million or 40% over the prior
year due to improved oil and gas production and commodity prices, and to the
addition of new deepwater assets. Earnings of $23.9 million were 81% better than
the prior year. Fully diluted earnings per share of 63 cents increased by 70%.
Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an energy
service company specializing in well operations and subsea construction. CDI
operates a fleet of technically advanced marine construction vessels and
robotics worldwide and conducts salvage operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Energy
Resource Technology, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, acquires and operates
mature and non-core offshore oil and gas properties.
Certain statements in this press release and accompanying shareholder report are
"forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither statements
of historical fact nor guarantees of future performance or events.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and assumptions that could cause actual
results to vary materially from those predicted. Among other things, these
include unexpected delays and operational issues associated with turnkey
projects, the price of crude oil and natural gas, weather conditions in offshore
markets, changes in site conditions and capital expenditures by customers. For a
more complete discussion of these risk factors, see our Annual Report on Form
10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2002, filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company strongly encourages readers to note that some
or all of the assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based
are beyond the company's ability to control or estimate precisely and may in
some cases be subject to rapid and material change.