Offshore Driller Noble Further Slashes Dividend

By Lisa Beilfuss 

Offshore driller Noble Corp. further slashed its quarterly payout, taking it down Friday to 2 cents a share from 15 cents.

Like many companies across the energy patch battered by sharply lower oil prices, London-based Noble has shaved its dividend in an effort to shore up cash.

The latest reduction follows the company's move in October to take the quarterly dividend down to 15 cents from 37.5 cents. At the time, the cut was Noble's first since mid-2012.

On Friday, Chief Executive David Williams said the move was a strategic adjustment "as we guide the company through this historic downturn."

The reduction is effective for the dividend payable to shareholders of record May 2, payable May 9.

Noble is the latest company tied to the energy sector to either cut or suspend its dividend in response to the profit-eating drop in energy prices. Companies including NRG Energy Inc., Consol Energy Inc. and Devon Energy Corp. recently reduced their dividends, with Devon also slashing a fifth of its workforce.

Energy companies in the S&P 500 cut about $6.2 billion in dividends last year, the highest amount among companies in a single sector in the S&P 500 to have reduced their dividend in 2015.

Shares in Noble rose 7.8% Friday, helped by a 2.4% jump in crude-oil prices. Over the past 12 months, the stock has lost 25% of its value.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2016 12:29 ET (16:29 GMT)

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