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Helix Reports First Quarter Results

    HOUSTON, May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Helix Energy Solutions (NYSE:
HLX) reported first quarter net income of $55.8 million, or $0.60 per
diluted share.
                              Summary of Results
           (in thousands, except per share amounts and percentages)

                                First Quarter          Fourth Quarter
                               2007       2006             2006

    Revenues                 $396,055   $291,648         $395,839

    Gross Profit              135,615    102,266          150,980
                                  34%        35%              38%

    Net Income                 55,820     55,389          162,479*
                                  14%        19%              41%

    Diluted Earnings Per Share   0.60       0.67             1.73*

     * Includes gain from sale of Cal Dive IPO of $96.5 million, net of taxes,
       or $1.02 per diluted share.
    Martin Ferron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated,
"Historically Q1 has been our slowest quarter for earnings due to
seasonality and scheduled maintenance activity. This, together with the
planned ramp up in our oil and gas production this year, is why we guided
that less than 20% of our 2007 earnings would occur in this Q1. Actual
earnings were near where we expected, despite production being in the
bottom third of our guidance range and another period of unscheduled
downtime for the Q4000. This points to the continuing strengthening of the
market for our Contracting Services and our performance in deepwater
pipelay, robotics and shallow water services (Cal Dive) was particularly
encouraging. Additionally we were extremely pleased with the outcome of our
exploration program adding around 100 bcfe to our proven reserves.
Obviously we were delighted to replace more than our anticipated 2007
production in just one quarter."
    "During the improved weather of Q2 we will swing into action with our
production enhancement efforts and the results should start to show in Q3.
For that reason we expect our Q2 earnings performance to be similar to that
achieved in Q1. We have also completed an assessment of the key variables
that drive our earnings for the year and that will be covered in the
conference call tomorrow. Based on this analysis, we narrow our full year
earnings guidance range to $3.00 -- $3.90/share."
    Financial Highlights

     *  Revenues:  The $104.4 million increase in year-over-year first quarter
        revenues was driven primarily by significant improvements in
        contracting services revenues due to the introduction of newly
        acquired assets and improved market conditions.  In addition, Oil and
        Gas sales increased $50.7 million due primarily to the production
        added from the Remington acquisition.

     *  Margins:  34% is essentially flat with the year ago quarter (35%) as
        improved margins in the Oil and Gas segment ($20.7 million Tulane
        write off in 1Q 2006) offset lower margins in the Contracting Services
        segment (Q4000 downtime in 1Q 2007 due to thruster problems).

     *  SG&A:  $30.6 million increased $9.6 million from the same period a
        year ago due primarily to increased overhead to support the Company's
        growth.  This level of SG&A was 8% of first quarter revenues, slightly
        above the 7% in the year ago quarter.

     *  Interest Expense:  $13.0 million is $10.5 million more than the $2.5
        million in the first quarter of 2006 due primarily to the debt
        incurred for the cash portion ($835 million) of the Remington
        acquisition in July, 2006.

     *  Equity in Earnings:  $6.1 million reflects primarily our share of
        Deepwater Gateway, L.L.C.'s earnings for the quarter relating to the
        Marco Polo facility.

     *  Income Tax Provision:  The Company's effective tax rate for the
        quarter was 34% which is essentially the same as last year's first
        quarter.

     *  Shares Outstanding:  On July 1, 2006, Helix acquired Remington Oil &
        Gas Corporation for approximately $1.4 billion paying approximately
        58% with cash and 42% with Helix stock.  The additional shares were
        the primary cause of total diluted shares outstanding increasing to
        94.3 million for the first quarter 2007 from 83.8 million in the first
        quarter 2006.  This increase was partially offset by the Company
        buying back $50 million (1.7 million shares) of its stock in the open
        market during the fourth quarter.

     *  Balance Sheet:  Total consolidated debt as of March 31, 2007 was $1.45
        billion.  This includes $172 million under Cal Dive's new revolving
        facility which is non-recourse to Helix.  We had $203 million of cash
        and liquid investments on hand as of March 31, 2007.  This represents
        43% net debt to book capitalization and with $691 million of EBITDAX
        (excluding the gain on sale of the Cal Dive IPO) over the last twelve
        months, this represents 1.8 times trailing twelve month EBITDAX.
    Further details are provided in the presentation for Helix's quarterly
conference call (see the Investor Relations page of http://www.HelixESG.com
). The call, scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Thursday, May
3, 2007, will be webcast live. A replay will be available from the Audio
Archives page.
    Helix Energy Solutions, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an
international offshore energy company that provides development solutions
and other key life of field services to the open energy market as well as
to our own reservoirs. Our oil and gas business is a prospect generation,
exploration, development and production company. Employing our own key
services and methodologies, we seek to lower finding and development costs,
relative to industry norms.
    FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
    This press release and attached presentation contain forward-looking
statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could
cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, are statements that could be deemed "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, including, without limitation, any projections of revenue,
gross margin, expenses, earnings or losses from operations, or other
financial items; future production volumes, results of exploration,
exploitation, development, acquisition and operations expenditures, and
prospective reserve levels of property or wells; any statements of the
plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any
statement concerning developments, performance or industry rankings; any
statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any
statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. The risks, uncertainties and assumptions
referred to above include the performance of contracts by suppliers,
customers and partners; employee management issues; complexities of global
political and economic developments, geologic risks and other risks
described from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ending December 31, 2006 and subsequent quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q. We assume no obligation and do not intend to update these
forward-looking statements.
         Comparative Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

                                                   Three Months Ended Mar. 31,
    (in thousands, except per share data)             2007              2006
                                                            (Unaudited)

    Net revenues                                   $396,055          $291,648
    Cost of sales                                   260,440           189,382
    Gross profit                                    135,615           102,266
      Selling and administrative                     30,600            21,028
    Income from operations                          105,015            81,238
      Equity in earnings of investments               6,104             6,236
      Net interest expense and other                 13,012             2,190
    Income before income taxes                       98,107            85,284
      Income tax provision                           33,123            29,091
      Minority interest                               8,219               ---
    Net income                                       56,765            56,193
      Preferred stock dividends                         945               804
    Net income applicable to common shareholders    $55,820           $55,389


    Weighted Avg. Shares Outstanding:
      Basic                                          89,994            77,969
      Diluted                                        94,312            83,803

    Earnings Per Share:
      Basic                                           $0.62             $0.71
      Diluted                                         $0.60             $0.67



              Comparative Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

    ASSETS
    (in thousands)                               Mar. 31, 2007  Dec. 31, 2006
                                                  (unaudited)
    Current Assets:
      Cash and equivalents                          $183,134       $206,264
      Short-term investments                          19,575        285,395
      Accounts receivable                            385,631        370,709
      Other current assets                            62,992         61,532
    Total Current Assets                             651,332        923,900


    Net Property & Equipment:
      Contracting Services                           836,261        800,503
      Oil and Gas                                  1,505,291      1,411,955
    Equity investments                               219,720        213,362
    Goodwill                                         824,137        822,556
    Other assets, net                                123,030        117,911
    Total Assets                                  $4,159,771     $4,290,187

              Comparative Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

    LIABILITIES & SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
    (in thousands)
                                                 Mar. 31, 2007   Dec. 31, 2006
                                                  (unaudited)
    Current Liabilities:
      Accounts payable                              $210,688       $240,067
      Accrued liabilities                            190,694        199,650
      Income taxes payable                             9,969        147,772
      Current mat of L-T debt [A]                     25,993         25,887
    Total Current Liabilities                        437,344        613,376

    Long-term debt [A]                             1,420,764      1,454,469
    Deferred income taxes                            454,539        436,544
    Decommissioning liabilities                      139,213        138,905
    Other long-term liabilities                        7,343          6,143
    Minority interest                                 68,525         59,802
    Convertible preferred stock [A]                   55,000         55,000
    Shareholders' equity [A]                       1,577,043      1,525,948
    Total Liabilities & Equity                    $4,159,771     $4,290,187

     [A]  Net debt to book capitalization -- 43% at March 31, 2007. Calculated
          as total debt less cash and equivalents and short-term investments
          ($1,244,048) divided by sum of total debt less cash and equivalents
          and short-term investments, convertible preferred stock and
          shareholders' equity ($2,876,091).



                      Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.
                     Reconciliation of Non GAAP Measures
                      Three Months Ended March 31, 2007


    Earnings Release:

    Balance  Sheet:   " ... 1.8 times trailing twelve month EBITDAX."

    Reconciliation From Net Income to EBITDAX
     (excluding gain on sale of Cal Dive IPO):
                               1Q07       4Q06      3Q06      2Q06      1Q06
                                        (in thousands, except ratio)

    Net income applicable
     to common shareholders   $55,820   $65,948   $57,029   $69,139    55,389
    Preferred stock dividends     945       945       804       805       804
    Income tax provision       28,617    34,166    31,409    35,887    29,091
    Net interest expense
     and other                 12,331    13,981    15,103     2,983     2,457
    Non-cash stock
     compensation expense       3,267     2,797     1,910     2,251     1,565
    Depreciation and
     amortization              67,558    61,809    63,879    34,346    33,226
    Exploration expense         1,190     1,820    19,520     1,029    22,105
    Share of equity
     investments:                 ---       ---       ---       ---       ---
      Depreciation              1,004     1,004     1,004     1,003     1,008
      Interest expense, net       (57)      (70)      (59)      (43)      (27)

    EBITDAX                  $170,675  $182,400  $190,599  $147,400  $145,618

      Trailing Twelve
       Months EBITDAX        $691,074

      Net Debt at
       March 31, 2007 (a)  $1,244,048

         Ratio                    1.8

    We calculate EBITDAX as earnings before net interest expense, taxes,
    depreciation and amortization, exploration expense, non-cash stock
    compensation expense and our share of depreciation, net interest expense
    and taxes from our equity investments. Further, we reduce EBITDAX for the
    minority interest in Cal Dive that we do not own.  EBITDAX margin is
    defined as EBITDAX divided by net revenues.  These non-GAAP measures are
    useful to investors and other internal and external users of our financial
    statements in evaluating our operating performance because it is widely
    used by investors in our industry to measure a company's operating
    performance without regard to items which can vary substantially from
    company to company and helps investors meaningfully compare our results
    from period to period.  EBITDAX should not be considered in isolation or
    as a substitute for, but instead is supplemental to,  income from
    operations, net income or other income data prepared in accordance with
    GAAP.  Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and
    not as an alternative to our reported results prepared in accordance with
    GAAP.  Users of this financial information should consider the types of
    events and transactions which are excluded.

     (a) Total debt less cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments


SOURCE Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.




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Related links:
  • http://www.HelixESG.com
    CONTACT:
    Wade Pursell, Chief Financial Officer,
    +1-281-618-0400, or fax, +1-281-618-0505