SDLP - Seadrill Partners LLC Fourth Quarter 2013 Cash Distribution
London, United Kingdom, January 29, 2014 - Seadrill Partners LLC (NYSE: SDLP) ("Seadrill Partners" or the "Company") announced today that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash distribution with respect to the quarter ended December 31, 2013 of $0.445 per unit, which represents an increase of 4.1% from the third quarter of 2013.
This increase, as already announced, relates to the acquisition of the tender rig T-16 and the Company's management recommendation to the Board to increase the quarterly distribution rate as a result in respect of the quarter ending December 31, 2013.
This cash distribution will be paid on February 14, 2014 to all unitholders of record as of the close of business on February 7, 2014.
As announced in December 2013 in connection with the acquisition of the West Sirius and the West Leo, the Company's management has also recommended to the Board a further increase in the Company's quarterly cash distribution of between $0.055 and $0.0675 per common unit (or an annualized increase of between $0.22 and $0.27 per common unit), which would become effective for the Company's distributions with respect to the quarter ending March 31, 2014. Any such increase would be conditioned upon, among other things, the approval of such increase by the Board and the absence of any material adverse developments or potentially attractive opportunities that would make such an increase inadvisable.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business and the markets in which it operates. In particular, statements regarding projected increases in cash distributions are considered forward looking statements. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include, but are not limited to the performance of the drilling rigs in the Company's fleet, delay in payment or disputes with customers, fluctuations in the international price of oil, changes in governmental regulations that affect the Company or the operations of the Company's fleet, increased competition in the offshore drilling industry, and general economic, political and business conditions globally. Consequently, no forward looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F (File No. 001-35704).
The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement.