Valaris Ltd (VAL) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Valaris fourth-quarter 2023 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. Today, we are experiencing national AT&T coverage issues. Should the presentation be interrupted at any time. We will attempt to reconnect and continue. During Q&A. If we experienced an interruption, we will do our best to continue, but may separately connect with analysts after the call. We appreciate your patience. I would now like to turn the conference over to Darren Gibbons, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Valaris 2023 年第四季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。今天，我們遇到了 AT&T 全國覆蓋問題。演示是否隨時被打斷。我們將嘗試重新連接並繼續。問答期間。如果我們遇到中斷，我們將盡力繼續，但可能會在電話會議後單獨與分析師聯繫。我們感謝您的耐心等待。現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Darren Gibbons。請繼續。

Welcome, everyone, to the Valaris fourth quarter 2023 conference call. With me today are President and CEO, Anton Dibowitz: Senior Vice President and CFO, Chris Weber; Senior Vice President and CCO, Matt Lyne and Other members of our executive management team.

歡迎大家參加 Valaris 2023 年第四季電話會議。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長安東‧迪博維茨 (Anton Dibowitz)、高級副總裁兼財務長克里斯‧韋伯 (Chris Weber)、資深副總裁兼首席文化長 Matt Lyne 和我們執行管理團隊的其他成員。

We issued our press release, which is available on our website at valaris.com. Any comments we make today about expectations are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations.

我們發布了新聞稿，可在我們的網站 valaris.com 上取得。我們今天對預期做出的任何評論都是前瞻性陳述，並受到風險和不確定性的影響。許多因素可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異。

Please refer to our press release and SEC filings on our website that define forward-looking statements and list risk factors and other events that could impact future results. Also, please note that the company undertakes no duty to update forward looking statements. During this call, we will refer to GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, please see the press release on our website for additional information and required reconciliations.

請參閱我們網站上的新聞稿和美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件，其中定義了前瞻性聲明並列出了可能影響未來結果的風險因素和其他事件。另請注意，該公司不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的責任。在本次電話會議中，我們將參考公認會計準則和非公認會計準則財務指標，請參閱我們網站上的新聞稿，以了解更多資訊和所需的對帳資訊。

As a reminder, last week, we issued our most recent fleet status report, which provides details on contracts across our rig fleet. An updated investor presentation will be available on our website after the call.

提醒一下，上週，我們發布了最新的船隊狀態報告，其中提供了我們鑽機隊合約的詳細資訊。電話會議結束後，我們的網站上將提供最新的投資者介紹。

Now I'll turn the call over to Anton Dibowitz, President and CEO.

現在我將把電話轉給總裁兼執行長安東‧迪博維茨 (Anton Dibowitz)。

Thanks, Darren. And good morning and afternoon to everyone. During today's call, I will begin with an overview of our performance during the quarter, then provide some high-level commentary on the outlook for the offshore drilling market and finish with an update on our capital return program. I'll then hand the call over to Matt to discuss the floater and jackup markets in more detail and provide an overview of our recent contracting success and our contracting outlook for 2024. After that, Chris will discuss our financial results and guidance.

謝謝，達倫。大家早安、下午好。在今天的電話會議中，我將首先概述我們本季的業績，然後對海上鑽井市場的前景提供一些高級評論，最後介紹我們資本回報計劃的最新情況。然後，我會將電話轉交給 Matt，更詳細地討論浮式浮船和自升式鑽井平台市場，並概述我們最近的承包成功情況以及 2024 年的承包前景。之後，克里斯將討論我們的財務表現和指導。

Before I wrap up the call with some closing comments. Before I discuss the quarter, I want to highlight some key points about our business that we will cover in more detail during this call. First, we remain confident in the strength and duration of this upcycle. And the outlook for Valaris is positive with increasing demand and constrained supply tightening the market.

在我以一些結束語結束這通通話之前。在討論本季之前，我想強調有關我們業務的一些關鍵點，我們將在本次電話會議中更詳細地介紹這些要點。首先，我們對本次上行週期的強度和持續時間仍然充滿信心。隨著需求增加和供應受限導致市場收緊，Valaris 的前景樂觀。

Second, we continued to execute on the commercial front, with nearly $3 billion of new contract backlog secured during 2023, it meaningfully improved dayrates. Today we sit with total contract backlog of more than $3.9 billion and nearly 60% increase from 12 months ago. And our contracted revenue coverage of more than 90% in 2024 underpins the meaningful improvement we expect in this year's financial results. Third, we are maintaining our 2024 EBITDA guidance range of $500 million to $600 million. And finally, we continued to demonstrate our commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

其次，我們繼續在商業方面執行任務，2023 年新訂單儲備量接近 30 億美元，這顯著提高了每日費率。今天，我們的合約積壓總額超過 39 億美元，比 12 個月前增加了近 60%。2024 年我們的合約收入覆蓋率超過 90%，這支撐了我們預計今年財務表現的有意義的改善。第三，我們將 2024 年 EBITDA 指引範圍維持在 5 億至 6 億美元之間。最後，我們繼續履行向股東返還資本的承諾。

We repurchased $200 million of shares in 2023, and we are now increasing our share repurchase authorization from $300 million to $600 million, starting with operations operating safely and efficiently remains our top priority, and we ended the year with positive momentum with the fourth quarter safety performance being the strongest of the year.

我們在2023年回購了2億美元的股票，現在我們將股票回購授權從3億美元增加到6億美元，從安全高效的營運開始仍然是我們的首要任務，我們以第四季度安全的積極勢頭結束了這一年表現堪稱年度最強。

We remain focused on continued improvement. And I'd like to thank all our offshore crews and onshore personnel for their dedication to following our safe systems of work and keeping safety top of mind wherever we operate around the world. A particular note, we had several rigs celebrate safety milestones during the quarter, and I'd like to congratulate the Valaris Norway 72, 110 and one 15 for each reaching three years without a recordable incident, a fantastic achievement by these teams. We're equally proud of Valaris 110 for being award Total Energies and North Oil companies. Global jackup rig of the year. A great example of our focus on safe and efficient operations and our collaborative approach to working with our customers.

我們仍然專注於持續改善。我要感謝我們所有的海上船員和岸上人員，感謝他們致力於遵守我們的安全工作系統，並在我們在世界各地開展業務時始終將安全放在首位。特別值得注意的是，我們有幾台鑽機在本季度慶祝了安全里程碑，我要祝賀Valaris 挪威72、110 和一台15 鑽機連續三年沒有發生可記錄的事故，這是這些團隊取得的一項了不起的成就。我們也為 Valaris 110 獲得 Total Energies 和 North Oil 公司的殊榮而感到自豪。年度全球自升式鑽井平台。這是我們注重安全高效營運以及與客戶合作的協作方式的一個很好的例子。

I also want to congratulate the entire Valaris team for the successful reactivation of VALARIS DS-, the team completed the reactivation and executed a best in class importation into Brazil and customer acceptance with Petrobras, enabling the rig to commence its contract ahead of schedule. This marked the fifth drillship reactivation that we've completed since early 2022 and our second during 2023, following the start-up of DS-17 in September. We continue to make good progress on reactivating DS-7 and look forward to adding another drillship to the active fleet later this year. For a 2.5 year contract offshore West Africa.

我還要祝賀整個 Valaris 團隊成功重新啟動了 VALARIS DS，該團隊完成了重新啟動，並以一流的方式進口到巴西，並得到巴西國家石油公司的客戶認可，使該鑽機能夠提前開始合約。這是我們自 2022 年初以來完成的第五次鑽井船重新啟用，也是繼 9 月 DS-17 啟動後我們在 2023 年完成的第二次重新啟用。我們在重新啟用 DS-7 方面繼續取得良好進展，並期待今年稍後在現役船隊中再增加另一艘鑽井船。西非近海合約為期 2.5 年。

Our industry-leading ability to execute these complex projects has been an important part of our growth story and a key driver for the meaningful improvement that we expect to see in our financial results in 2024 and beyond.

我們執行這些複雜專案的產業領先能力是我們成長故事的重要組成部分，也是我們預期 2024 年及以後財務業績實現有意義改善的關鍵驅動力。

Moving to our financial performance for the quarter, we generated adjusted EBITDA of $58 million and adjusted EBITDAR, adding back onetime reactivation costs of $96 million. Chris will provide further details on our financial results and guidance a little later.

轉向本季的財務業績，我們產生了 5,800 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDAR，加上一次性重新啟動成本 9,600 萬美元。克里斯稍後將提供有關我們財務業績和指導的更多詳細資訊。

Turning our attention to the market. Commodity prices remain supportive for continued investment in long-cycle offshore projects with the 5-year Brent Ford price around $70 per barrel, a level at which approximately 90% of undeveloped offshore reserves are expected to be profitable.

將我們的注意力轉向市場。大宗商品價格仍然支持長週期海上項目的持續投資，5 年期布倫特福特原油價格約為每桶 70 美元，在該水平下，約 90% 的未開發海上儲量預計將實現盈利。

In addition, growing global demand for hydrocarbons means that these barrels will be needed to meet the world's energy needs. According to data from restart offshore upstream CapEx is expected to increase by 10% in 2024 and at a compound annual growth rate of 6% over the next three years.

此外，全球對碳氫化合物的需求不斷增長意味著將需要這些桶子來滿足世界的能源需求。根據重啟海上上游的數據，預計2024年上游資本支出將成長10%，未來三年複合年增長率為6%。

Floater market continues to develop positively. This is evident in the customer activity we are seeing with a growing pipeline of opportunities that are providing increased term with longer lead times, a great sign for the duration of the current upcycle. However, as we mentioned in our previous quarterly call, considering lengthening contract lead times, customer required upgrades and repositioning rigs for work, we would expect to see some gaps in schedules across the industry during 2024.

浮動市場持續積極發展。這在我們看到的客戶活動中顯而易見，機會不斷增加，這些機會提供了更長的期限和更長的交貨時間，這是當前升級週期持續時間的一個好跡象。然而，正如我們在先前的季度電話會議中提到的，考慮到合約交付時間的延長、客戶要求的升級以及重新定位工作平台，我們預計 2024 年整個行業的時間表會出現一些差距。

Looking at pricing, leading edge day rates continue to be in the mid to high four hundreds as demonstrated by our two most recent drills fixtures, and we believe that they will continue to move higher over time as the remaining stacked and newbuild capacity continues to diminish and the total supply and demand balance for the titans.

從定價來看，正如我們最近的兩次鑽探裝置所證明的那樣，前沿日費率繼續保持在400 中到高位，而且我們相信，隨著剩餘的堆積和新建產能繼續減少，隨著時間的推移，它們將繼續走高。以及泰坦的總供需平衡。

We believe the two to three year programs are likely to be awarded at or close to leading-edge rates. While we may see lower rates for some of the 5-year plus opportunities at some contractors may be willing to accept a lower rate to secure long-term duration and backlog. Similarly, we may see somewhat lower rates on shorter term gap fill jobs to avoid rigs becoming idle.

我們相信，兩到三年的項目可能會以領先水平或接近領先水平授予。雖然我們可能會看到一些 5 年以上機會的費率較低，但一些承包商可能願意接受較低的費率，以確保長期工期和積壓。同樣，我們可能會看到短期缺口填補工作的利率有所下降，以避免鑽孔機閒置。

For Valaris, we are focused on maximizing the profitability of our fleet by keeping our active rigs highly utilized and securing the best contract economics possible in each unique bidding situation. Our recent purchase of newbuild drillships, Valaris DS-13 and DS-14 at highly attractive prices demonstrates our confidence in the strength and duration of the upcycle, and we will be disciplined in waiting for the right opportunities to reactivate these rigs and Valaris DS-11.

對於 Valaris 來說，我們致力於透過保持活躍鑽機的高度利用率並確保在每種獨特的投標情況下盡可能獲得最佳的合約經濟效益，從而最大限度地提高我們船隊的盈利能力。我們最近以極具吸引力的價格購買了新建鑽井船Valaris DS-13 和DS-14，這表明我們對升級週期的強度和持續時間充滿信心，我們將嚴格等待合適的機會重新啟動這些鑽井平台和Valaris DS- 11.

Moving to shallow water. While the recent announcement from Saudi Arabia has created some uncertainty. We remain positive on the outlook for the jack-up market. First, we expect that Saudi Arabia will continue to be the largest jack-up market in the world for the foreseeable future. We understand the recent announcement reflects the change in the timing and pace at which Saudi will develop their resources, given that they currently hold about 3 million barrels of spare capacity.

移至淺水區。儘管沙烏地阿拉伯最近的聲明帶來了一些不確定性。我們對自升式鑽井平台市場的前景保持樂觀。首先，我們預計在可預見的未來，沙烏地阿拉伯將繼續成為全球最大的自升式鑽井平台市場。我們了解，鑑於沙烏地阿拉伯目前擁有約 300 萬桶閒置產能，最近的公告反映了沙烏地阿拉伯開發資源的時間和節奏的變化。

The delay in increasing maximum sustainable capacity from 12 million to 13 million barrels per day is expected to be focused on the expansion of just two oil fields, South India and Manila. And we do not think it changes the Kingdom's long-term view on the need for these resources given their expectations for growing oil demand.

將最大可持續產能從每天 1,200 萬桶增加到 1,300 萬桶的延遲預計主要集中在南印度和馬尼拉這兩個油田的擴建上。鑑於石油需求不斷增長的預期，我們認為這不會改變沙烏地王國對這些資源需求的長期看法。

Second, the global jackup market is extremely tight with active utilization approaching 95% and the contracted rig count at its highest level in nearly nine years. And we continue to see incremental demand coming to market outside of Saudi Arabia, which Matt will talk about a little bit later.

其次，全球自升式鑽井平台市場極度緊張，活躍利用率接近95%，合約鑽井數量達到近九年的最高水準。我們繼續看到沙烏地阿拉伯以外的市場需求不斷增加，馬特稍後會談到這一點。

And finally, approximately 90 contracted jackups, representing more than 20% of the contracted global jackup fleet by at least 40 years old, meaning it is likely that some of these rigs will be retired and the overall number of jackups in the global fleet will decline further over time.

最後，約90 艘已簽約的自升式鑽井平台，佔全球已簽約自升式鑽井平台船隊的20% 以上，其船齡至少為40 年，這意味著其中一些鑽井平台可能會退役，全球船隊中自升式鑽井平台的總數將下降隨著時間的推移而進一步。

Regarding our business. We have eight rigs leased to Arrow, our unconsolidated joint venture with Saudi Aramco with an additional two rigs scheduled to commence leases this year. For context, the charter revenue on all our lease rigs accounts for just 5% of our contract backlog. Ramco and the Kingdom remain fully committed to Arrow, including its newbuild program, which is a cornerstone project of the Saudi Vision 2030 program. And we think that the recent Saudi announcement will have minimal if any impact on our business.

關於我們的業務。我們向 Arrow（我們與沙特阿美公司的非合併合資企業）租賃了 8 座鑽井平台，另外還有 2 座鑽井平台計劃於今年開始租賃。就背景而言，我們所有租賃鑽井平台的包租收入僅占我們合約積壓的 5%。Ramco 和沙烏地王國仍完全致力於 Arrow，包括其新建項目，該項目是沙烏地阿拉伯 2030 年願景計畫的基石項目。我們認為沙烏地阿拉伯最近的聲明對我們業務的影響即使有影響也是微乎其微的。

Moving now to an update on our capital return program. We expect to deliver significant earnings and cash flow growth over the next few years as we reprice rigs to market day rates and reactivated rigs go back to work and we intend to return all future free cash flow to shareholders unless there is a better or more value accretive use for it.

現在我們來更新一下我們的資本返還計劃。我們預計未來幾年將實現顯著的盈利和現金流增長，因為我們將鑽機重新定價為市場日費率，並且重新啟用的鑽機將重新投入使用，並且我們打算將所有未來的自由現金流返還給股東，除非有更好或更多的價值對它的增值使用。

We continued to demonstrate our commitment to returning capital to shareholders. Last year, we authorized a $300 million share repurchase program and returned $200 million to shareholders, and we are now increasing the authorization to $600 million, providing increased capacity to opportunistically repurchase shares.

我們繼續履行向股東返還資本的承諾。去年，我們授權了一項 3 億美元的股票回購計劃，並向股東返還 2 億美元，現在我們將授權增加到 6 億美元，從而增強了機會性回購股票的能力。

Now I'll hand the call over to Matt to discuss the floater and jackup markets in more detail and to provide an overview of our recent contracting success and our contracting outlook for 2024.

現在，我將把電話轉交給 Matt，更詳細地討論浮式浮船和自升式鑽井平台市場，並概述我們最近的承包成功和 2024 年的承包前景。

Thanks, Anton, and good morning and afternoon, everyone. Since the beginning of the fourth quarter, we have secured new contracts and extensions with an associated contract backlog of approximately $1.5 billion (sic - press release, page 1, "$1.4 billion"). These awards have increased our total backlog to more than $3.9 billion, representing an almost 60% increase over the past 12 months. More than $1 billion of this new backlog is for the floater fleet, including multiyear contracts for drillships, Volaris, DS-4 and DS-16.

謝謝安東，大家早上好、下午好。自第四季度初以來，我們已獲得新合約和延期合同，相關合約積壓約為 15 億美元（原文如此 - 新聞稿，第 1 頁，「14 億美元」）。這些獎項使我們的積壓總額增加到超過 39 億美元，比過去 12 個月增加了近 60%。新訂單中超過 10 億美元用於浮式船隊，包括鑽井船、Volaris、DS-4 和 DS-16 的多年合約。

DS-4 was awarded a nearly three year contract with Petrobras offshore Brazil and DS-16 received a two year contract extension with Oxy in the US Gulf of Mexico. Importantly, these contracts are expected to contribute to a meaningful improvement in financial results with dayrates transitioning from legacy rates in the low two hundreds to leading-edge dayrates.

DS-4 與巴西國家石油公司在巴西近海獲得了一份近三年的合同，DS-16 在美國墨西哥灣與 Oxy 獲得了為期兩年的延期合同。重要的是，這些合約預計將有助於顯著改善財務業績，日費率將從低 200 美元的傳統費率轉變為領​​先的日費率。

We were also awarded several new jackup contracts across the North Sea, Trinidad and Australia, which combined added nearly $500 million in backlog, demonstrating the broad-based strength, the shallow water market. Most notably, we received a three-year contract extension for Valaris-120 with Harbour Energy in the UK North Sea.

我們還在北海、特立尼達和澳洲獲得了幾份新的自升式鑽井平台合同，這些合約總共增加了近 5 億美元的積壓訂單，展示了淺水市場的廣泛實力。最值得注意的是，我們與英國北海的 Harbour Energy 簽訂了為期三年的 Valaris-120 延期合約。

This extension is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2025 at a day rate that is meaningfully higher than the current spot rates. Indicative of an improving North Sea jackup market.

此次延期預計將於 2025 年第三季開始，日費率明顯高於目前即期費率。顯示北海自升式鑽井平台市場正在改善。

Moving now to some commentary on our major markets. Starting with floaters. The contracted benign environment floater count reached 123 during the fourth quarter, its highest point since late 2016. And utilization for the active six and seventh generation drillships was at 93%.

現在轉向對我們主要市場的一些評論。從飛蚊症開始。第四季度，合約良性環境漂浮物數量達到 123 艘，為 2016 年底以來的最高點。現役第六代和第七代鑽井船的使用率為 93%。

We continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunities for floaters, and we are currently tracking approximately 30 prospects each with an expected duration of greater than one year that are estimated to commence before the end of 2026. We anticipate that approximately half of these opportunities will need to be met by either incremental reactivations of stacked and stranded newbuilds or active rigs moving regions. This compares favorably to a pool of approximately 10 drillships across the stacked newbuild fleet that are considered likely reactivation candidates in today's market.

我們繼續看到大量流動性機會，目前正在追蹤大約 30 個潛在客戶，每個潛在客戶的預計持續時間超過一年，預計在 2026 年底之前開始。我們預計，大約一半的機會需要透過逐步重新激活堆積和擱淺的新船或活躍的鑽機移動區域來滿足。這與目前市場上被認為可能重新啟用的新建船隊中大約 10 艘鑽井船的數量相比是有利的。

In terms of timing we estimate that a handful of these 30 opportunities will commence later this year with the remainder likely to be evenly weighted between 2025 and 2026. We continue to see Brazil being a key driver of ultra-deepwater floater demand. And Petrobras currently has opportunities for five rigs across its SAP on hand, Condor developments outstanding.

就時間安排而言，我們估計這 30 個機會中的少數將在今年稍後開始，其餘的可能會在 2025 年至 2026 年之間平均分配。我們仍然認為巴西是超深水浮式設備需求的主要驅動力。巴西國家石油公司 (Petrobras) 目前在其 SAP 中擁有五個鑽井平台的機會，Condor 的開發表現出色。

In addition, we anticipate that Petrobras are likely to come to market for additional rigs beyond the two active tenders. And we believe that these opportunities combined could increase the floater count offshore Brazil by up to three additional rigs. We are currently tracking more than a dozen opportunities off the coast of Africa. We are excited by the prospect of increased activity in this region with several large IOCs expected to add rigs over the next few years, including some long-term programs that could cover multiple operating locations that may be attractive opportunities for both our active fleet and the DS-11, DS-13 and DS-14, Brazil and Africa combined account for approximately two thirds of the total opportunities with the remainder spread across other parts of South America, Southeast Asia and the Gulf of Mexico and primarily with large IOCs.

此外，我們預期巴西國家石油公司可能會在兩次活躍招標之外向市場購買更多鑽井平台。我們相信，這些機會結合起來可以使巴西近海的浮式鑽井平台數量增加多達三個。我們目前正在非洲海岸追蹤十多個機會。我們對該地區活動增加的前景感到興奮，幾家大型國際石油公司預計將在未來幾年內增加鑽機，包括一些可能覆蓋多個作業地點的長期計劃，這對於我們的現役船隊和其他運營商來說可能都是有吸引力的機會DS-11、DS-13 和DS-14、巴西和非洲合計約佔總機會的三分之二，其餘分佈在南美洲、東南亞和墨西哥灣的其他地區，主要是大型國際石油公司。

On the jackup side of the business, demand continues to steadily increase with the contracted jackup count now at its highest level in almost nine years. As a result, active utilization for jackups is approaching 95%, with leading edge dayrates firmly established above 150,000 in several regions. We expect to see solid demand growth over the next few years in the broader Middle East, Southeast Asia and West Africa that could absorb in the range of 10 to 15 incremental rigs.

在自升式鑽井平台業務方面，需求持續穩定成長，合約自升式鑽井平台數量目前達到近九年來的最高水準。因此，自升式鑽井平台的活躍利用率接近 95%，多個地區的領先日費率牢牢確立在 15 萬以上。我們預計未來幾年中東、東南亞和西非地區的需求將強勁成長，可吸收 10 至 15 台增量鑽孔機。

The strength of the global jackup market is evidenced by some of our recent contract awards, including a second contract for the Polaris 247 offshore Australia at a market leading rate of 180,000 per day and a 300 day contract for the two 49 offshore Trinidad at approximately 163,000, representing a 30% increase over its current day rate.

我們最近授予的一些合約證明了全球自升式平台市場的強勁勢頭，包括澳大利亞海上的第二份北極星247 合同，日產量為180,000 艘，市場領先，以及特立尼達島的兩艘49 海上合同為300 天，日產量約為163,000 艘。 ，比目前的日費率增加了 30%。

We have had great contracting success in the North Sea, having secured new contracts and extensions with associated backlog of more than $420 million since the beginning of the fourth quarter. Contract awards for the VALARIS Stavanger 121 and 123 mean that our active North Sea fleet is now fully sold out for 2024. And we are in active discussions for opportunities commencing in '25 and beyond.

我們在北海的合約簽訂取得了巨大成功，自第四季度初以來已獲得新合約和延期合同，相關積壓金額超過 4.2 億美元。VALARIS Stavanger 121 和 123 的合約授予意味著我們現役的北海船隊 2024 年的訂單現已全部售完。我們正在積極討論 25 年及以後開始的機會。

The three year extension for Valaris 120 that I mentioned earlier provides a good indication of the strengthening commercial environment in the UK North Sea from 2025 onwards. Our contract wins since the start of the fourth quarter have further improved our 2024 contract coverage.

我之前提到的 Valaris 120 的三年延期很好地表明了從 2025 年起英國北海商業環境的加強。自第四季度初以來我們贏得的合約進一步改善了我們 2024 年的合約覆蓋範圍。

On the floater side, we now have just two of our 13 active floaters, the DS-10 and the DPS-5 with near term contract availability. DS-10 is due to complete its existing contract with Shell offshore Nigeria towards the end of the first quarter. And we believe that rig is well placed for long term opportunities in the region that are expected to commence in late 2024 or early 2025.

在浮動裝置方面，我們現在只有 13 個活躍浮動裝置中的兩個 DS-10 和 DPS-5 具有近期合約可用性。DS-10 將於第一季末完成與殼牌尼日利亞海上業務的現有合約。我們相信，該鑽機在該地區擁有良好的長期機會，預計將於 2024 年底或 2025 年初啟動。

In the interim, we are actively pursuing short-term opportunities that could fill some of the potential gap. DPS-5 is currently mobilizing for a 110 day contract with ENI offshore Mexico. We are in active discussions regarding opportunities in the region, but anticipate the rig will experience some idle time in the second half of the year.

在此期間，我們正在積極尋求短期機會，以填補一些潛在的空白。DPS-5 目前正在與 ENI 墨西哥近海簽訂為期 110 天的合約。我們正在積極討論該地區的機遇，但預計該鑽機將在今年下半年出現一些閒置時間。

On the jackup side, our remaining contract availability in 2024 is down to just two rigs, the Valaris-247 and the 144. Recently, we have seen encouraging developments around environmental permit approvals for projects, offshore, Australia and as a result, we now have good line of sight into future work for the Valaris-247 with Valaris-144. We continue to pursue near term opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico while looking for longer-term opportunities outside of the region.

在自升式鑽井平台方面，我們 2024 年剩餘的合約數量只剩下兩座鑽井平台：Valaris-247 和 144。最近，我們看到澳洲海上專案環境許可證審批方面取得了令人鼓舞的進展，因此，我們現在對 Valaris-247 和 Valaris-144 的未來工作有了良好的了解。我們繼續在墨西哥灣尋求短期機會，同時在該地區以外尋找長期機會。

Finally, we are in advanced discussions with BP related to contract extensions for Mad Dog and Thunder Horse. The two production platforms that we manage in the US Gulf of Mexico. We expect to finalize these extensions soon.

最後，我們正在與 BP 就 Mad Dog 和 Thunder Horse 的合約延期事宜進行深入討論。我們在美國墨西哥灣管理的兩個生產平台。我們預計很快就會完成這些擴充。

In summary, we are extremely pleased with our contracting success in 2023, adding nearly $3 billion in new contract backlog during the year and meaningfully improved dayrates. We remain laser focused on filling our remaining uncontracted days in 2024 and securing attractive contracts for work commencing in 2025 and beyond.

總之，我們對 2023 年的合約成功感到非常滿意，年內新增合約積壓量增加了近 30 億美元，日費率顯著提高。我們仍然專注於填補 2024 年剩餘的未合約天數，並為 2025 年及以後開始的工作爭取有吸引力的合約。

I will now hand over the call to Chris to take you through the financials.

現在我將把電話轉交給克里斯，讓他向您介紹財務狀況。

Thanks, Matt, and good morning, and afternoon, everyone. In my prepared remarks, I will provide an overview of the fourth quarter results, our outlook for the first quarter 2024, and I also will provide updated guidance for the full year 2024.

謝謝馬特，大家早安，下午好。在我準備好的演講中，我將概述第四季度業績、我們對 2024 年第一季的展望，並且還將提供 2024 年全年的最新指導。

Sarting with our fourth quarter results, revenue was $484 million, up from $455 million in the prior quarter and adjusted EBITDA was $58 million, up from $40 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back reactivation expense, was $96 million, up from $91 million in the prior quarter.

從我們第四季的業績開始，營收為 4.84 億美元，高於上一季的 4.55 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 為 5,800 萬美元，高於上一季的 4,000 萬美元。調整後的 EBITDAR（加上重新啟動費用）為 9,600 萬美元，高於上一季的 9,100 萬美元。

Adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to more operating days across the fleet and lower reactivation expense. In the fourth quarter, we had more operating days for Valaris DS-17, which commenced its contract with Equinor offshore Brazil in early September following its reactivation.

調整後的 EBITDA 增加主要是因為機隊營運天數增加和重新啟動費用降低。第四季度，Valaris DS-17 的營運天數有所增加，該船在重新啟動後於 9 月初與巴西近海 Equinor 簽訂了合約。

We also had more operating days for jackups, Valaris-107, 249 and Norway, all of which incurred some idle time during the prior quarter. These benefits were partially offset by fewer operating days in the fourth quarter for Valaris DS-12 due to mobilization and a brief shipyard visit between contracts as well as jackups Valaris-76 and 123, both of which completed contracts during the fourth quarter and are undergoing contract preparation and planned maintenance work prior to the start of their next contract.

我們也為自升式鑽井平台 Valaris-107、249 和挪威提供了更多的營運天數，所有這些鑽井平台在上一季都產生了一些閒置時間。這些效益被Valaris DS-12 第四季度營運天數減少所部分抵消，這是由於合約期間的動員和短暫造船廠參觀以及自升式鑽井平台Valaris-76 和123 的操作天數的減少，這兩個平台均在第四季度完成了合約並正在進行施工。下一份合約開始之前的合約準備和計劃維護工作。

Q4 reactivation expense was $39 million compared to $51 million in the prior quarter, primarily due to lower reactivation expense for Valaris DS-8, which commenced its contract with Petrobras offshore Brazil at year end, partially offset by higher reactivation expense for Valaris DS-7, which is expected to commence its contract offshore West Africa in mid 2024.

第四季重新啟動費用為3900 萬美元，而上一季為5,100 萬美元，主要是由於Valaris DS-8 的重新啟動費用較低，該公司於年底開始與巴西國家石油公司巴西近海簽訂合同，部分被Valaris DS-7 較高的重新啟動費用所抵消預計將於 2024 年中期在西非近海開始簽訂合約。

One item to note is that fourth quarter income tax was a $790 million benefit this is due to an $800 million non-cash benefit that resulted from a change in valuation allowance for certain deferred tax assets. Given our constructive outlook, we now believe it is likely that we will be able to utilize these assets over time.

需要注意的一點是，第四季所得稅收益為 7.9 億美元，這是由於某些遞延稅資產的估值準備金發生變化而產生的 8 億美元非現金收益。鑑於我們的建設性前景，我們現在相信隨著時間的推移，我們很可能能夠利用這些資產。

Cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter was $97 million and capital expenditures were$463 million, including $348 million related to the purchase of newbuild drillships, Valaris DS-13 and DS-14, which is comprised of the purchase price for the rigs and the costs incurred to prepare them for mobilization from South Korea to Las Palmas.

第四季營運現金流為 9,700 萬美元，資本支出為 4.63 億美元，其中 3.48 億美元與購買新建鑽井船 Valaris DS-13 和 DS-14 相關，其中包括鑽井平台的購買價和為將他們從韓國動員到拉斯帕爾馬斯做準備而產生的費用。

We had cash and cash equivalents of $636 million at the end of the quarter. Cash declined by $422 million during the quarter due to capital expenditures, primarily the purchase of DS-13 and DS-14 as well as share repurchases. These were partially offset by $97 million of cash generated from operations. Our $375 million revolving credit facility remains fully available, providing total liquidity of just over $1 billion at the end of the quarter. In the fourth quarter, we repurchased $50 million of shares, taking our full year repurchases to $200 million, representing $3 million shares or approximately 4% of the total outstanding share count.

截至本季末，我們的現金和現金等價物為 6.36 億美元。由於資本支出（主要是購買 DS-13 和 DS-14 以及股票回購），本季現金減少了 4.22 億美元。這些被營運產生的 9,700 萬美元現金部分抵銷。我們的 3.75 億美元循環信貸額度仍然完全可用，到本季末提供的流動性總額略高於 10 億美元。第四季度，我們回購了 5,000 萬美元的股票，使全年回購額達到 2 億美元，相當於 300 萬美元的股票，約佔已發行股票總數的 4%。

Now I'll provide a brief overview of ARO Drilling's financials. As a reminder, ARO is not consolidated in the financial results of Valaris, aero EBITDA increased to $39 million in the fourth quarter from $24 million in the prior quarter, primarily due to new build jackup Kingdom 1 commencing its maiden contract in November and more operating days for Aero 4001, following some out-of-service days for planned maintenance during the third quarter.

現在我將簡要概述 ARO Drilling 的財務狀況。提醒一下，ARO 並未合併在Valaris 的財務業績中，航空EBITDA 從上一季的2,400 萬美元增至第四季度的3,900 萬美元，這主要是由於新建自升式平台Kingdom 1 於11 月開始其首個合約以及更多營運繼第三季計劃維護的一些停運日之後，Aero 4001 停運了幾天。

Moving now to our first quarter 2024 outlook, we expect total revenues will be in the range of $490 million to $500 million as compared to $484 million in the fourth quarter, floater revenues are expected to increase due to contract startups for Valaris DS-8 and DS-12. However, jackup revenues are expected to decrease due to idle time for several rigs, including the Valaris-107, 120, 123 and 247 three of these rigs are undergoing special periodic surveys and contract preparation prior to the start and their next contracts, including Valaris 247, which after leaving the shipyard, will mobilize from the North Sea to Australia ahead of its next job.

現在展望 2024 年第一季度，我們預計總營收將在 4.9 億至 5 億美元之間，而第四季為 4.84 億美元，由於 Valaris DS-8 和DS-12。然而，由於包括Valaris-107、120、123 和247 在內的幾座鑽井平台閒置，自升式鑽井平台收入預計將減少，其中三座鑽井平台正在開始和下一份合約之前進行特別定期調查和合約準備，包括Valaris 247號離開造船廠後，將從北海調到澳大利亞，開始下一次工作。

Each of these rigs are scheduled to commence new contracts before the end of the second quarter, we expect that contract drilling expense will be $430 million to $440 million as compared to $402 million in the fourth quarter. This is primarily due to the addition of operating costs for Valaris DS-8 and. DS-12 following the recent contract startups as well as costs associated with the jackup SPS and contract preparation work that I just mentioned. In addition, we rolled out offshore wage increases in certain regions at the beginning of the year.

這些鑽機均計劃在第二季末之前簽訂新合同，我們預計合約鑽井費用將為 4.3 億至 4.4 億美元，而第四季為 4.02 億美元。這主要是由於 Valaris DS-8 和 營運成本的增加。DS-12 遵循最近的合約啟動以及與我剛才提到的自升式 SPS 和合約準備工作相關的成本。此外，我們年初也在部分地區推出了離岸工資上漲計畫。

General and administrative expense is expected to be approximately $27 million, up from $24 million in the prior quarter. As a result we expect adjusted EBITDA to range between $30 million to $40 million, including $25 million to $30 million of reactivation expense for Valaris DS-7 ahead of its expected contract commencement in the second quarter.

一般及管理費用預計約 2,700 萬美元，高於上一季的 2,400 萬美元。因此，我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將在 3000 萬至 4000 萬美元之間，其中包括 Valaris DS-7 在第二季度合約預計生效之前的 2500 萬至 3000 萬美元重新啟動費用。

Capex in the first quarter is expected to be $145 million to $155 million. Maintenance and upgrade CapEx is expected to be approximately $70 million, including upgrades to Valaris-76 and 108 ahead of their long-term bareboat charters to Aero. Reactivation and associated contract-specific CapEx is expected to be approximately $50 million, including $20 million of reactivation spend that was previously anticipated in late 2023.

第一季資本支出預計為 1.45 億至 1.55 億美元。維護和升級資本支出預計約為 7000 萬美元，包括在長期光船租賃給 Aero 之前對 Valaris-76 和 108 進行升級。重新激活和相關合約特定資本支出預計約為 5,000 萬美元，其中包括此前預計於 2023 年末發生的 2,000 萬美元重新激活支出。

Finally, newbuild CapEx is expected to be approximately $30 million, primarily related to mobilization costs from South Korea to Las Palmas for Valaris, DS-13 and DS-14.

最後，新建資本支出預計約為 3000 萬美元，主要與 Valaris、DS-13 和 DS-14 從韓國到拉斯帕爾馬斯的調動成本有關。

I'll now provide our current financial guidance for the full year 2024, consistent with the preliminary guidance provided on the third-quarter call, our full year 2024 guidance does not account for any incremental reactivations for contracts that have yet to be executed.

我現在將提供我們目前的 2024 年全年財務指導，與第三季電話會議上提供的初步指導一致，我們的 2024 年全年指導不考慮尚未執行的合約的任何增量重新激活。

We currently forecast revenues of $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion, contract drilling expense of $1.65 billion to $1.75 billion and G&A expense of $105 million to $110 million. As Anton mentioned, we are maintaining our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $500 million to $600 million, and this includes reactivation expense of approximately $40 million at the midpoint. This is approximately four times higher than 2023 EBITDA, with the increase primarily driven by contract startups for reactivated drillships rigs rolling to higher day rate contracts during the year and increased earnings from our North Sea jackup fleet.

我們目前預計收入為 23 億至 24 億美元，合約鑽井費用為 16.5 億至 17.5 億美元，一般管理費用為 1.05 億至 1.1 億美元。正如安東所提到的，我們將全年調整後 EBITDA 指引維持在 5 億至 6 億美元之間，其中包括中位數約 4,000 萬美元的重新啟動費用。這大約是 2023 年 EBITDA 的四倍，增長的主要原因是年內重新啟動的鑽井船鑽井平台合約啟動額增加，日費率更高，以及我們北海自升式鑽井船隊的收入增加。

Given our contract wins in the fourth quarter, we now have 92% of our 2024 revenue contracted at the midpoint of our revenue guidance range. As we look across the year, revenues and EBITDA are expected to increase meaningfully in the second quarter compared to the first quarter primarily due to several jackups starting new contracts following SPS and contract preparation work.

鑑於我們在第四季度贏得的合同，我們現在 2024 年收入的 92% 處於收入指導範圍的中點。展望全年，與第一季相比，第二季的營收和 EBITDA 預計將大幅成長，這主要是由於幾艘自升式鑽井平台在 SPS 和合約準備工作之後開始新合約。

Further improvement is expected in the second half of the year, primarily due to Valaris DS-7, which is scheduled to start its contract late in the second quarter following its reactivation and certain rigs rolling to higher day rate contracts.

預計下半年情況將進一步改善，這主要歸功於 Valaris DS-7，該項目計劃在第二季度末重新啟動後開始簽訂合同，並且某些鑽機將轉為更高的日費率合同。

Full year 2024 capital expenditures are expected to range from $390 million to $430 million compared to our prior guidance of $325 million to $365 million, inclusive of the new-build CapEx we announced late last year upon delivery of DS-13 and DS-14. The increase is primarily due to contract preparation costs, which are largely reimbursable and the timing of spend.

2024 年全年資本支出預計為 3.9 億美元至 4.3 億美元，而我們先前的指引為 3.25 億美元至 3.65 億美元，其中包括我們去年年底交付 DS-13 和 DS-14 時宣布的新建資本支出。增加的主要原因是合約準備成本（大部分可報銷）和支出時間表。

Maintenance and upgrade CapEx is expected to be approximately $290 million with about $55 million being reimbursable. Discover's SPS and contract preparation requirements as well as capital spares like 2023, 2024 is expected to be a heavy year for jack-up SPS projects.

維護和升級資本支出預計約 2.9 億美元，其中約 5,500 萬美元可償還。Discover 的 SPS 和合約準備要求以及資本備件（如 2023 年、2024 年）預計對於自升式 SPS 專案來說將是艱難的一年。

The $40 million increase in maintenance and upgrade CapEx compared to our preliminary guidance is largely related to contract preparation work for Valaris DS-4's contract with Petrobras, which we announced in December as well as preparation work for 108, three-year bareboat charter with Arrow.

與我們的初步指導相比，維護和升級資本支出增加了4000 萬美元，這主要與我們在12 月宣布的Valaris DS-4 與Petrobras 合約的合約準備工作以及與Arrow 的108 三年期光船租賃的準備工作有關。

This incremental CapEx is largely reimbursable through upfront fees. Reactivation and contract-specific CapEx is expected to be approximately $80 million, which is $20 million higher than our preliminary guidance due to spin that was expected to be incurred in the fourth quarter pushing into 2024.

這種增量資本支出大部分可以透過預付費用來補償。重新激活和特定於合約的資本支出預計約為 8000 萬美元，比我們的初步指導高出 2000 萬美元，原因是預計將在 2024 年第四季度發生旋轉。

Finally, we anticipate newbuild CapEx of approximately $40 million primarily related to the mobilization of Valaris DS-13 and DS-14 from South Korea to Las Palmas.

最後，我們預計新建資本支出約為 4000 萬美元，主要與將 Valaris DS-13 和 DS-14 從韓國調動到拉斯帕爾馬斯有關。

That concludes my review of our financial results and guidance. I'll now hand the call back to Anton for some closing remarks.

我對我們的財務表現和指導的審查到此結束。現在我將把電話轉回給安東，讓其作總結發言。

Thanks, Chris. I'll conclude by reiterating some of the key points from our prepared remarks. First, we remain confident in the strength and duration of this upcycle and the outlook for Valaris is positive with increasing demand and constrained supply tightening the market.

謝謝，克里斯。最後，我將重申我們準備好的發言中的一些要點。首先，我們對本次上行週期的強度和持續時間仍然充滿信心，隨著需求增加和供應緊張導致市場收緊，Valaris 的前景樂觀。

Second, we continued to execute on our operating leverage in a disciplined and thoughtful manner by repricing rigs from legacy dayrates to much higher market rates and successfully delivering reactivated rigs with attractive contracts. Our recent contracting success, including the addition of approximately $1.5 billion in new contract backlog since the beginning of the fourth quarter has increased our contracted revenue coverage to more than 90% in 2024, underpinning the meaningful improvement expected in this year's financial results.

其次，我們繼續以嚴謹和深思熟慮的方式執行我們的營運槓桿，將鑽機從傳統的日費率重新定價到更高的市場費率，並成功交付具有有吸引力的合約的重新啟動的鑽機。我們最近的合約成功，包括自第四季度初以來增加了約15 億美元的新合約積壓，使我們的合約收入覆蓋率在2024 年增加到90% 以上，支撐了今年財務業績預期的有意義的改善。

And finally, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to returning capital to shareholders by repurchasing $200 million of shares in 2023. And now increasing our share repurchase authorization from $300 million to $600 million. We expect to generate meaningful and sustained free cash flow over the next few years, and we intend to return it all to shareholders unless there is a better or more value accretive use for it.

最後，我們透過在 2023 年回購 2 億美元的股票，繼續展現我們向股東返還資本的承諾。現在我們的股票回購授權從 3 億美元增加到 6 億美元。我們預計在未來幾年內產生有意義且持續的自由現金流，並且我們打算將其全部返還給股東，除非有更好或更具增值價值的用途。

We've now reached the end of our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the line for questions.

我們準備好的發言現在已經結束了。接線員，請開通提問線。

And now we will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

現在我們將開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Sir, Today's first question comes from David Smith from Pickering Energy Advisors. Please go ahead and

先生，今天的第一個問題來自皮克林能源顧問公司的大衛史密斯。請繼續

Thanks, Good morning. Congratulations on the quarter.

謝謝，早安。恭喜本季。

Thanks. David

謝謝。大衛

Thanks. David

謝謝。大衛

It does seem that there's a healthy number of opportunities for and floater program starting in the next 12 to 24 months. And I'm curious how you think about bidding potential reactivation versus an active drillship on this kind of how you see the trade-off between putting another drillship to work versus locking in duration and minimizing potential? Right. (inaudible).

未來 12 至 24 個月內，浮動計劃似乎確實有大量機會啟動。我很好奇您如何看待潛在的重新激活與活躍的鑽井船的投標，您如何看待讓另一艘鑽井船投入工作與鎖定持續時間和最大限度地減少潛力之間的權衡？正確的。（聽不清楚）。

Hi Dav, look, I think we've been pretty clear Our first priority is to keep our active fleet highly, highly utilized and there are great opportunities for us to do that. When it comes to stock capacity, the 13, 14 and 11, I think we've been clear that we expect to get a meaningful return on reactivation costs around $100 million, maybe with the with inflation pushing up above those numbers right now.

嗨，達夫，我想我們已經說得很清楚了，我們的首要任務是保持我們的活躍機隊高度利用率，我們有很好的機會做到這一點。當談到13、14 和11 號的庫存容量時，我認為我們已經明確表示，我們預計將在1 億美元左右的重新啟動成本上獲得有意義的回報，也許是因為目前的通貨膨脹率已經高於這些數字。

And given where leading-edge day rates are. Now the fact that you're generating about $100 million in EBITDA, and you know, as long as we can get a term contract, we see some opportunities to do that as well. We have people talking to us and interest in all three of the 13 or 14 and 11.

並考慮到領先的日費率。現在，您的 EBITDA 收入約為 1 億美元，而且您知道，只要我們能夠獲得定期合同，我們也看到了一些實現這一目標的機會。有人與我們交談，並對 13、14 和 11 中的所有三個感興趣。

But again, you know, our first priority is to keep the active fleet highly utilized on attractive contracts and then look for the incremental opportunities that we see coming to market on ice as demand continues to increase, we're waiting for the right opportunity. But we have 10 rigs once the seven goes to work in the middle of this year working, you know, that's a fair stretch away from where we were a couple of years ago with just four of our ships working and we're willing to be patient given the positive momentum we see in the market to wait for the right opportunity to put those rigs to work.

但同樣，您知道，我們的首要任務是在有吸引力的合約上保持活躍船隊的高度利用率，然後隨著需求的不斷增加，尋找我們看到的冰上市場的增量機會，我們正在等待合適的機會。但我們有 10 台鑽井平台，一旦 7 台鑽井平台在今年年中開始工作，你知道，這與我們幾年前只有四艘船在工作的情況相去甚遠，我們願意鑑於我們在市場上看到的積極勢頭，請耐心等待合適的機會讓這些鑽孔機投入使用。

Appreciate that. And follow-up question, if I may. It's nice to see the execution of that $200 million of share repurchases through year end and nicer to see the authorization double to $600 million. How should we think about the pace at which you might use that authorization going forward?

感謝。如果可以的話，還有後續問題。很高興看到年底前執行了 2 億美元的股票回購，更高興的是看到授權翻倍至 6 億美元。我們應該如何考慮您未來使用該授權的速度？

Yes, Dave, this is Chris, appreciate the question. We remain committed to returning capital to shareholders. As Anton mentioned, we returned $200 million of capital to shareholders last year through share repurchases on a $300 million authorization. Our Board just doubled that authorization to $600 million from $300 million. This is an open-ended authorization. What the additional capacity for repurchases you think just gives us the ability to opportunistically repurchase shares in '24 and into '25. And this is all part of our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders.

是的，戴夫，我是克里斯，謝謝你的問題。我們仍然致力於向股東返還資本。正如安東所提到的，我們去年根據 3 億美元的授權，透過股票回購向股東返還了 2 億美元的資本。我們的董事會剛剛將授權額從 3 億美元增加了一倍，達到 6 億美元。這是一項開放式授權。您認為額外的回購能力使我們有能力在 24 年和 25 年期間機會主義地回購股票。這是我們向股東返還資本的承諾的一部分。

And we believe we trade at a discount to our intrinsic value. We put the increased authorization into place for a purpose. We intend to use it, and we're going to be opportunistic about it fit here.

我們相信我們的交易價格低於我們的內在價值。我們增加授權是有目的的。我們打算使用它，我們將抓住機會讓它適合這裡。

Thank you. I'll circle back in the queue.

謝謝。我會繞回隊列。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thank you. The next question comes from Eddie Kim with Barclays.

謝謝。下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的埃迪·金。

Hi, good morning. And just wanted to ask about how you see the trends in dairy floaters have been in that mid to high four hundreds for about six to eight months. Now you mentioned in your remarks that you believe dayrates will continue to move higher over time. We did highlight some potential for maybe some lower day rates on a longer-term work and even some shorter term gap fill work. So just taking all that together, would it be fair to say leading edge levels could hold flat through year end before starting to trend higher again next year? Just how are you thinking about the trend here?

早安.只是想問您如何看待乳製品漂浮物的趨勢，在大約六到八個月的時間裡，乳製品漂浮物一直處於中到高的四百個水平。現在，您在演講中提到，您相信日費率將隨著時間的推移繼續走高。我們確實強調了長期工作甚至一些短期缺口填補工作可能會降低日薪的一些潛力。因此，將所有這些綜合起來，可以公平地說領先水平可能會在年底前保持平穩，然後在明年再次開始走高嗎？您如何看待這裡的趨勢？

Hi, Eddie, I'll start this off, Matt. I mean, I think if we take a look at the market fundamentals over the last 12 to 18 months, we've seen increase in lead time for tenders, which means customers are coming out further in advance of when they expect to commence, and the contracting durations are increasing, and these are all data points that support the longevity of this market.

嗨，艾迪，我要開始了，馬特。我的意思是，我認為如果我們看一下過去 12 到 18 個月的市場基本面，我們會發現招標的準備時間有所增加，這意味著客戶比他們預期開始的時間提前了更多，並且合同期限正在增加，這些都是支持該市場長壽的數據點。

And I think probably one of the most recent data points is that we're now seeing majors picking up rigs on what I would classify as speculative supply or speculative demand, depending on which side you look at it from. So what that means is if you look at the JV that was announced recently total today. While we know they have a long string of development opportunities around the world, it's unlikely they have approval on all of those programs.

我認為最新的數據點之一可能是，我們現在看到各大石油公司正在根據我將其歸類為投機性供應或投機性需求的方式來購買鑽機，這取決於你從哪一方面來看。所以，如果你看看今天最近宣布的合資企業總數，這意味著什麼。雖然我們知道他們在世界各地擁有大量的發展機會，但他們不太可能批准所有這些計劃。

So, they're picking up rigs are picking up a rig and to satisfy their some of their demand with the idea that they can pick it up for rates that that are favorable to them and for obviously reasons to avoid a avoid alternative. So, we see that as a really strong mark in the in the business where speculative demand is starting to pick back up again. So, the read across day rates is that that illustrates the strength in the market. And so, we see the trend and the range that we that we offer to continue.

因此，他們正在挑選鑽孔機，並滿足他們的一些需求，他們的想法是，他們可以以對他們有利的價格來挑選它，並且顯然有理由避免替代方案。因此，我們認為這是投機需求開始再次回升的行業的一個非常強勁的標誌。因此，跨日利率的讀數說明了市場的實力。因此，我們看到了我們提供的趨勢和範圍將繼續下去。

I think that on I mean, we're always reticent. I know everybody wants us to predict when we're going to get to that next milestone. And prognostication is a difficult art but what I will say, if you look back over quarters, leading edge day rates continue to grind higher. On average, the market continues to tighten the simple economics, supply and demand the market continues to tighten.

我認為我的意思是，我們總是保持沉默。我知道每個人都希望我們預測何時能夠達到下一個里程碑。預測是一門困難的藝術，但我要說的是，如果你回顧幾個季度，前沿日利率繼續走高。平均來看，簡單經濟市場持續趨緊，市場供需持續趨緊。

There are less attractive assets sitting on the sidelines and incremental demand coming to market, and that will drive day rates higher over time. But that is not to say when we say we shouldn't take a single data point and extrapolate it that there are not going to be gaps in programs given, you know, increasing lead times to contracts and repositioning rigs for work in attractive markets and needing to do upgrades. But overall, we were positive on the market and rates continue to grind higher over time.

吸引力較小的資產處於觀望狀態，市場需求不斷增加，這將隨著時間的推移而推高日利率。但這並不是說，當我們說我們不應該採用單一數據點並推斷出，給定的計劃中不會存在差距，你知道，增加合約的交付時間並重新定位鑽機以在有吸引力的市場中工作，需要進行升級。但總體而言，我們對市場持樂觀態度，隨著時間的推移，利率繼續走高。

Got it. Got it. Great.

知道了。知道了。偉大的。

Thank you for that. And my follow-up is just on the Saudi capacity expansion curtailment. So, they've had a big increase in their jack up rig count over the past 12 months to around, I believe 85 jackups today announcement probably doesn't change the Kingdom long term view as you as you mentioned, but I have to think it could impact our needs in '25 and '26.

謝謝你。我的後續行動只是關於沙烏地阿拉伯產能擴張的削減。因此，在過去12 個月裡，他們的自升式鑽井平台數量大幅增加，大約有85 座自升式鑽井平台，我相信今天宣布的85 座自升式鑽井平台可能不會像你提到的那樣改變王國的長期觀點，但我必須認為它可能會影響我們 25 年和 26 年的需求。

Just in that context, do you think we could see Saudi jack-up rig count decline a bit over the next two years? Before trending higher afterwards? And look, could this mean for your four or so leased rigs that come off contract at the end of this year?

正是在這種背景下，您認為未來兩年​​沙烏地阿拉伯自升式鑽井平台數量是否會略有下降？之後趨勢走高前？看看，這是否意味著您的四台左右租賃鑽井平台將於今年年底到期？

Yeah, it's a good question. I think you have it. I think you have characterized quite well. I look at this stage. It's a little bit early to say what, if any, the exact impact is going to be on Saudi rig count. But you know, in my prepared remarks, I said as far as our business, we believe it will have minimal to any impact on our business. They delayed the expansion of the company, and many families are to oil focused fields, but they fully expect to develop resources and in their own in their own predictions.

是的，這是一個好問題。我想你已經擁有了。我認為你的特質很好。我看這個階段。現在說沙烏地阿拉伯鑽機數量受到的具體影響（如果有的話）還為時過早。但你知道，在我準備好的發言中，我說過，就我們的業務而言，我們相信這對我們的業務影響微乎其微。他們推遲了公司的擴張，許多家族都以石油領域為重點，但他們完全期望能夠開發資源並在自己的預測中。

The increasing demand for four for oil and gas over time. I think what's really important is that the overall global jack up market is really tight right now after utilization approaching 95% and the total rig count at its highest level in almost nine years.

隨著時間的推移，對石油和天然氣的需求不斷增加。我認為真正重要的是，在利用率接近 95%、鑽機總數達到近九年來的最高水準之後，全球自升式鑽井平台市場目前確實非常緊張。

So, we see incremental demand coming to market outside the Middle East. And in fact, in the Middle East as well with the 10 to 15 incremental rigs. So if and it's a big gap still to be seen if there are rigs that that are relocated from Saudi, there is incremental demand, you know, to take on those rigs.

因此，我們看到中東以外市場的需求不斷增加。事實上，在中東也有 10 到 15 台增量鑽孔機。因此，如果有從沙烏地阿拉伯搬遷的鑽井平台，仍然存在很大的差距，那麼購買這些鑽井平台的需求就會增加。

If you look at our fleet, we have eight arrows, an unconsolidated joint venture Valaris. We have eight rigs leased in there. We have two additional rigs going in there. These are new contracts for Arrow. So we'll have new lease contracts going in there this year. Saudi Ramco and the Kingdom remain fully committed to the aero joint venture.

如果你看看我們的機隊，我們有八架箭，是一家未合併的合資企業瓦拉里斯。我們在那裡租了八台鑽孔機。我們在那裡還有另外兩個鑽孔機。這些是 Arrow 的新合約。因此，今年我們將在那裡簽訂新的租賃合約。沙特拉姆科和沙烏地王國仍然完全致力於航空合資企業。

The newbuild program that we have at IMI. Is a cornerstone project of the Saudi 2030 vision and two of our rigs that we have leased and are operating on gas fields, which is not the focus. And if you look at all the remainder of those rigs, that's around 5% of our backlog. So we're very comfortable with our, but our position and the go-forward position, you know, in Saudi and also the global jackup market.

我們在 IMI 的新建案。是沙烏地阿拉伯2030年願景的基石項目，我們已經租賃並正在氣田運營的兩個鑽井平台，這不是重點。如果你看看所有剩餘的鑽孔機，你會發現這大約占我們積壓訂單的 5%。因此，我們對我們在沙烏地阿拉伯以及全球自升式鑽井平台市場的地位和未來的地位感到非常滿意。

Got it. Great. Thanks for that caller and Anton, I'll turn it back.

知道了。偉大的。謝謝那個來電者和安東，我會回電的。

Thank you. The next question is from Fredrik Stene from Clarksons Platou Securitie.

謝謝。下一個問題來自Clarksons Platou Securitie 的Fredrik Stene。

Hey, guys. Hope all is well, I wanted to circle back to the capital return policy, as you said, and announced today now opened up for $300 more millions. And I totally agree that share repurchases are for you guys. This is a good thing right now given where your steel values are, at least in my framework.

大家好。希望一切都好，我想回到資本返還政策，正如你所說，今天宣布現在又開放了 300 百萬美元。我完全同意股票回購適合你們。考慮到你們的鋼鐵價值觀，這是一件好事，至少在我的框架中是如此。

However, I wanted to it's challenged a bit in a way on the addition to that you say you want to return all free cash flow to shareholders and then you have that unless there's a better way for more value accretive use for it. And then you could potentially end up or chasing value forever and not getting sent out in a way is there.

然而，我想它在某種程度上受到了挑戰，除了你說你想將所有自由現金流返還給股東，然後你就擁有了，除非有更好的方法來增加它的價值。然後你可能會最終或永遠追逐價值，而不會以某種方式被發送出去。

So that's if you've done the DS 11, 13 and 14, is that kind of at the point where you look for no more value and say that now with the time to distribute each cent or could it be value accretion beyond those three rigs as well.

所以，如果你已經完成了 DS 11、13 和 14，那麼你就不再尋找更多的價值，並說現在有時間分配每一分錢，或者它可能是這三台設備之外的價值增值以及。

It's a good question, and we expect to deliver significant earnings and cash flow growth over the next couple of years. We we're heading into, you know, well into an upcycle, and we expect it to continue. And I think we've been very clear about our intention for what we're going to do with that increased earnings and cash flow growth and we return it all to shareholders.

這是一個很好的問題，我們預計未來幾年將實現顯著的收益和現金流成長。你知道，我們正在進入一個升級週期，我們預計它會繼續下去。我認為我們已經非常清楚我們將如何利用增加的收益和現金流成長來做什麼，並將其全部回饋給股東。

Yeah, it's never a great idea to make absolute statements, right. And so, I wouldn't read too much into that caveat. Our job is to maximize shareholder growth. And, you know, there may be things that make sense for us to invest in in keeping with that, whether it's, you know, additional MPD systems or a very attractive opportunity to buy an asset. I'm just throwing examples out there. So, you'll have an absolute statement is never a great idea, but let's be very clear on what our shareholder return policy is when we're generating significant amounts of cash, we intend to return it all to shareholders unless there is clearly a better about value, accretive use for that cash.

是的，做出絕對的陳述從來都不是一個好主意，對吧。因此，我不會過度解讀這項警告。我們的工作是最大化股東成長。而且，您知道，可能有一些事情對我們來說是有意義的，與之一致的投資，無論是額外的 MPD 系統還是非常有吸引力的資產購買機會。我只是舉幾個例子。所以，你有一個絕對的聲明從來都不是一個好主意，但讓我們非常清楚我們的股東回報政策是什麼，當我們產生大量現金時，我們打算將其全部返還給股東，除非有明確的規定更好地關注現金的價值和增值用途。

Thank you very much. That's very helpful. And just one more for me. You have and clearly at least in my world, the 11, 13 and 14 are the three rigs that you should prioritize to prioritize to take out if any, but there are some other stacked jack-ups, semis, etcetera, across your fleet. Are you come to a point for some of these assets where you would more actively consider scrapping them or selling them for non-drilling use? Or is this still something you would Coley's keep on your balance sheet just for future optionality?

非常感謝。這非常有幫助。還給我一個。顯然，至少在我的世界中，11、13 和14 是您應該優先考慮優先取出的三個鑽井平台（如果有的話），但您的船隊中還有一些其他堆疊的自升式鑽井平台、半鑽井平台等。對於其中一些資產，您是否會更積極地考慮報廢或出售它們用於非鑽井用途？或者您仍將 Coley's 保留在您的資產負債表上以供將來選擇？

And look, I think for us, we prioritize getting ships back to work. That's a capital allocation question. The returns talked earlier a previous question about, you know, the reactivation cost versus where leading-edge day rates are and the ability to return on that reactivation cost and win on attractive contracts for jackups.

看，我認為對我們來說，我們優先考慮的是讓船舶恢復工作。這是一個資本配置問題。回報率早些時候談到了之前的一個問題，即重新啟動成本與前沿日費率的比較，以及重新啟動成本的回報和贏得有吸引力的自升式鑽井平台合約的能力。

You know, internationally the durations of the contracts, even though the numbers are a lot smaller, have made it a more difficult capital allocation or a less attractive capital allocation decision. But we do have those jackups.

您知道，在國際上，儘管合約數量少得多，但合約期限卻使其成為更困難的資本配置或不太有吸引力的資本配置決策。但我們確實有那些自升式鑽井平台。

We do see jackup P&O durations and increasing, which means increasingly there may be some opportunities for some of those assets. But right now, given where we see the momentum in the markets, you know, the three, the six and our jackups are options for us and with me are positive. But growth in the market. We think there are attractive options for us to hold right now.

我們確實看到自升式鑽井平台 P&O 期限不斷增加，這意味著其中一些資產可能越來越有機會。但現在，考慮到我們看到的市場勢頭，你知道，三艘、六艘和我們的自升式鑽井平台對我們來說是選擇，對我來說是積極的。但市場成長。我們認為現在有一些有吸引力的選擇可供我們持有。

All right. Thank you very much. Thank you for taking my question and have a good day.

好的。非常感謝。感謝您提出我的問題，祝您有美好的一天。

Absolutely. Thanks a lot for the question.

絕對地。非常感謝您的提問。

Thank you. The next question comes from Gregory Lewis with BTIG.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Gregory Lewis。

Thank you and good morning and thanks for taking my questions. I guess most of my questions have been asked on. So I was kind of curious on your views on, you know, like total announced that that rig joint venture with Vantage just knowing that Valaris and previously Ensco have really had a good long-term relationship for total for years. I'm curious if that was something you actually looked at or considered and kind of your view on the potential opportunity for those types of JVs going forward on? Thanks.

謝謝你，早安，謝謝你回答我的問題。我想我的大部分問題都被問到了。所以我很好奇你對你的看法，你知道，就像道達爾宣布與 Vantage 成立鑽機合資企業一樣，我知道 Valaris 和之前的 Ensco 多年來確實與道達爾建立了良好的長期合作關係。我很好奇這是否是您真正關注或考慮過的事情，以及您對此類合資企業未來潛在機會的看法？謝謝。

Look I think it's a great sign for the market in general, as Matt said earlier, that, you know, operators are looking for the first time in a long time at contracting rates well beyond programs that they have approved or FID'd. And it speaks to their view of the market that the market's going to continue to tighten and where day rates are going to be going.

看，我認為這對整個市場來說是一個很好的跡象，正如馬特早些時候所說，你​​知道，運營商長期以來第一次尋求遠高於他們已批准或最終投資決定的項目的合約價格。這反映了他們對市場的看法，即市場將繼續收緊以及日利率將走向何方。

And so it's an attractive, it's attractive opportunity and I think is a great sign for where the market is going. We will absolutely part of having it's important to have scale in this business. And part of having scale in this business means you can take a portfolio approach.

所以這是一個有吸引力的機會，我認為這是市場走向的一個很好的跡象。我們絕對會參與其中，在這個產業中擁有規模是很重要的。在該業務中擁有規模意味著您可以採取組合方法。

So, we have 10 ships that are working or looking to go to work. And yes, we would be willing to look at an opportunity to secure long-term backlog and baseload backlog for a long period of time and then be opportunistic, more opportunistic on some of our other assets, but we look at each opportunity and bidding situation and it's in its own right. And you know, if it makes sense and is and is value accretive to shareholders and fits into the portfolio. We would absolutely look and engage in something like that, but it depends on the commercial opportunity that's available.

因此，我們有 10 艘船正在工作或準備開始工作。是的，我們願意尋找機會來確保長期積壓和基本負載積壓，然後在我們的其他一些資​​產上採取機會主義，更加機會主義，但我們會考慮每個機會和投標情況這是它自己的權利。你知道，如果它有意義，並且現在和將來都會為股東增值並適合投資組合。我們絕對會考慮並參與類似的事情，但這取決於可用的商業機會。

Super helpful. Thank you. Very much.

超有幫助。謝謝。非常。

Thank you.

謝謝。

The next question comes from Kurt Hallead with Benchmark.

下一個問題來自 Benchmark 的 Kurt Hallad。

Hey, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Hey, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Thanks for the thanks for the updates. Some I'm kind of curious in the context where you have now, as you mentioned, you have three drill ships that can be activated bought into the market, maybe a couple of semisubmersibles, but obviously the yes, the focus of the market is on the ultra-deepwater ships right now.

感謝您的更新。有些我很好奇，正如您所提到的，您現在擁有三艘可以激活的鑽探船，可以在市場上購買，也許是幾艘半潛式鑽井船，但顯然是的，市場的焦點是現在在超深水船上。

My question really relates to this right. As you've gone through this process of activating rates over the course of the past 12 months, the industry, the drillers have been very much on focused on making sure that they get some upfront payment for the activation of these assets.

我的問題確實與這項權利有關。當您在過去 12 個月中經歷了激活費率的過程時，行業、鑽探人員一直非常注重確保他們為激活這些資產獲得一些預付款。

So, I'm just kind of curious as we roll forward with less fewer activations. But as you mentioned, kind of contract prep opportunities are the offshore drillers and you in particular in a position to continue to demand upfront payments from your customers for the contract prep work that's going to happen?

所以，當我們以更少的啟動次數向前推進時，我只是有點好奇。但正如您所提到的，合約準備機會是海上鑽探商，您特別有能力繼續要求客戶為即將發生的合約準備工作預付款嗎？

Yeah, absolutely. As the market continues to tighten, um, you know that we absolutely continue to have that opportunity. I think we kind of led the charge on that in seeking upfront payments. It's we look at the opportunity based on the economics of the opportunity and getting getting a significant upfront payment, one that it's not subject to kind of operational downtime risks and it helps the cash flow profile helps the economics of a job. We have a different cost of capital versus our customers.

是的，絕對是。隨著市場繼續收緊，嗯，你知道我們絕對會繼續擁有這樣的機會。我認為我們在尋求預付款方面起到了領導作用。我們根據機會的經濟性來看待機會，並獲得一筆可觀的預付款，這樣它就不會受到營運停機風險的影響，並有助於現金流狀況改善工作的經濟性。我們與客戶的資本成本不同。

And you know, if not all operators are amenable to it, some of them like it and would prefer to pay cash up front and maybe get a lower headline day rate, but we look at the economics of the job. So, I think the opportunities for significant upfront payments are, you know, as much there if not more than that they ever have been.

你知道，如果不是所有運營商都願意這樣做，他們中的一些人會喜歡它，並且更願意預先支付現金，並且可能獲得較低的總體日費率，但我們會考慮這項工作的經濟性。因此，我認為，大額預付款的機會與以往一樣多，甚至更多。

Okay, that's good color. So, on as you guys are very much aware, right, the investor community has been a little bit reticent to continue to put money flow into offshore drillers broadly. And then some of that was due to concerns about pace of contracting activity slowing down and pretty much of the concept around leading edge rates.

不錯，這個顏色不錯因此，正如你們非常清楚的那樣，投資者群體對於繼續廣泛地將資金流向海上鑽探商有點猶豫。其中一部分是由於對合約活動步伐放緩以及大部分圍繞前沿利率的概念的擔憂。

Yes, stalling out that maybe temporarily, but stalling out on the left, you I know you addressed both elements of that in your prepared comments, but what is the if demand is so tight and the outlook for demand exceeds supply?

是的，也許是暫時拖延，但在左邊拖延，你我知道你在準備好的評論中談到了這兩個要素，但如果需求如此緊張並且需求前景超過供應，那會怎麼樣？

I don't know. I mean, it does beg the question like you. It seems like you guys are in the driver's seat and the newer companies, things that still have some element of leverage to keep a lid on pricing. So what do you think that play here and look,

我不知道。我的意思是，它確實像你一樣提出了這個問題。看起來你們和新公司都處於主導地位，這些公司仍然具有一定的槓桿作用來限制定價。那你覺得在這裡玩怎麼樣？

I mean, stalling out of stalling out or taking a pause versus being solid with leading edge day rates. You know, generating $100 million annually of EBITDA. You know is in a good market and incremental demand continues to come to market. You know that the number of attractive sidelined capacity in the form of stack rigs continues to dwindle around 10 today.

我的意思是，停止拖延或暫停，而不是保持領先的日費率。你知道，每年產生 1 億美元的 EBITDA。您知道，市場狀況良好，市場需求不斷增加。您知道，如今，以堆疊鑽機形式存在的有吸引力的閒置產能數量繼續減少到 10 台左右。

So, I think this is a process that plays out over time, and we fully expect there as the supply-demand balance continues to tighten there to be continued pressure on day rates and day rates to move higher over time. It's going to be up in obviously a long duration cycle, and we just need to play it out and be disciplined as we play into that cycle, which is why we have the 1113 and the 14. And we're going to be patient and disciplined about bringing that capacity back to the market.

因此，我認為這是一個隨著時間的推移而發生的過程，我們完全預計，隨著供需平衡繼續收緊，日利率將持續面臨壓力，並且日利率會隨著時間的推移而走高。顯然，它會在一個很長的周期中上升，我們只需要發揮它並在進入該週期時遵守紀律，這就是我們擁有 1113 和 14 的原因。我們將保持耐心和紀律，將這種產能帶回市場。

Okay. And then just lastly, on shareholder distributions, you made it clear that you think your stock's undervalued, which is why you're going to buy back stock. Obviously at the market start to recognize the inherent value. It starts begging the question as to whether or not you may consider a dividend. So can you just give us an update on how you're thinking about the dynamics between share repo and dividend strategy longer term?

好的。最後，關於股東分配，您明確表示您認為您的股票被低估，這就是您要回購股票的原因。顯然在市場上就開始認識到其內在價值。它開始迴避你是否可以考慮股利的問題。那麼，您能否向我們介紹一下您如何看待股票回購和長期股利策略之間動態的最新情況？

Yeah, No, a great question. As we said, when this business really starts generating sustained and meaningful free cash flow, which we don't think we're that far away from. And we think having both accents and so on from a dividend would obviously want to have that be at a level that is sustainable through the cycle, but we think both are good, good components of a capital return policy.

是的，不，這是一個很好的問題。正如我們所說，當這項業務真正開始產生持續且有意義的自由現金流時，我們認為我們距離這一點並不遙遠。我們認為，從股息中獲得這兩種口音等顯然希望其達到在整個週期中可持續的水平，但我們認為兩者都是資本回報政策的良好組成部分。

Can appreciate that.

可以欣賞這一點。

Thanks.

謝謝。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Darren Gibbins for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我想將會議轉回達倫·吉賓斯（Darren Gibbins）發表閉幕詞。

Thanks, Sanjay, and thank you to everyone on the call for your interest in Valaris. We look forward to speaking with you again when we report our first quarter 2024 results, have a great rest of your day.

謝謝 Sanjay，也感謝參加電話會議的所有人對 Valaris 的興趣。我們期待在報告 2024 年第一季業績時再次與您交談，祝您休息愉快。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。現在您可以斷開線路。