PV Drilling posts highest quarterly profit in 7 years

Petrovietnam Drilling and Well Service Corporation (PV Drilling, HoSE: PVD) reported its strongest quarterly earnings since early 2019, fueled by rising drilling demand and new rig contributions.

The company's consolidated Q3 results showed net profit soared 54% year-on-year to VND277 billion ($10.53 million), the highest since the first quarter of 2019.

Revenue rose 5% to VND2.57 trillion ($97.7 million), while gross profit margin expanded to 23.7% from 18.4%, lifting gross profit by 36% to VND609 billion ($23.24 million).

The company said results improved thanks to revenue contributions from the newly operated PV Drilling VIII rig since September 1, increased drilling service volumes, and higher earnings from joint ventures and subsidiaries.

In the first nine months, revenue was stable at VND6.55 trillion ($248.95 milllion), but net profit jumped 46% to VND673 billion ($25.57 million), achieving 91% of its full-year revenue target and 127% of its profit goal.

Overall, the corporation’s business performance continues to improve from 2023 to now due to increased demand for oil and gas drilling after the severe global energy crisis in 2022, fueled by Russia-Ukraine tensions. PV Drilling has seven rigs and all have contracts until the end of 2026, some rigs have contracts until 2028.

Long-term outlook supported by rig expansion

Analysts at broker VNDirect expect PV Drilling’s earnings to remain robust, supported by long-term contracts through 2026 that ensure 90-100% rig utilization and fixed charter rates, mitigating oil price volatility.

On the other hand, this year, the company has invested in expanding two new drilling rigs, PV Drilling VIII and PV Drilling IX. Of these, PV Drilling VIII has been operating since September and PV Drilling IX is expected to be operational from 2026.

These two new rigs will significantly increase capacity and contribute about 26% of revenue and 20% of gross profit of the drilling segment in 2026.

The outlook for the Southeast Asian jack-up rig market is bright, supported by sustained demand in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, along with Vietnam’s push for large-scale upstream projects.

According to S&P Global’s July 2025 update, regional rig demand is forecast to reach 36.8 rigs in 2025 and 38.2 rigs in 2026, representing utilization rates of 83.6% and 84.9%, respectively, higher than the long-term pre-Covid average.

Accordingly, after bottoming out in late 2024, the average day rate has recovered to around $105,000/day in Q2/2025 and is expected to remain stable until mid-2026, before increasing again from H2/2026 as exploration and production (E&P) investment accelerates.

With limited new rigs and an aging global fleet, Southeast Asia will maintain a supply-demand balance, supporting high day rates and stable operations.

In this context, VNDirect expects PV Drilling's day rates to increase by around 3% in 2025 and 4% in 2026, thereby boosting revenue growth and expanding profit margins.

In addition, increased exploration and production (E&P) activities in Vietnam will boost demand for well intervention, logging and completion services, which are the corporation’s strengths domestically.

The well services segment is highly cyclical, closely linked to domestic upstream activities. PV Drilling’s revenue in this segment in the 2017-2023 period remained low, reflecting weak E&P activities and the absence of large domestic drilling campaigns.

The turning point will come from 2024, when upstream projects are restarted and bundled contracts such as Dai Hung Phase 3 promote a strong recovery. This momentum continues to increase in the first six months of this year.

VNDirect believes that Vietnam’s upstream sector is entering a new cycle, reminiscent of the pre-2015 boom period. After many years of natural declines at older fields (Bach Ho, Rong, Su Tu Trang, Lan Tay, Lan Do), a series of new projects are underway, including Block B-O Mon (first gas 2027), Su Tu Trang phase 2B (2026), Dai Hung Nam, Kinh Ngu Trang-Kinh Ngu Trang Nam, Thien Nga-Hai Au, and Lac Da Vang, in addition to long-term prospects such as Ken Bau and Nam Du-U Minh.

These developments, combined with the natural decline of 15-20%/year at mature fields, will maintain multi-year demand for well completion, workover, intervention and abandonment services.

To capture this cycle, PV Drilling has invested in a new Hydraulic Workover Unit (HWU) in 2024, not only serving domestic projects but also aiming to expand to Malaysia and Indonesia from 2026.

The corporation is holding an overwhelming market share in the well drilling services segment in Vietnam, strengthening its ability to take advantage of increasing demand. In this context, VNDirect believes that well drilling services will become a growth driver from 2025, supporting margin expansion and improving medium-term profits for PVD.

In terms of assets, with the investment in two new rigs, the company's fixed assets increased to over VND14.81 trillion ($562.95 million), an increase of nearly VND2 trillion ($76 million) compared to the beginning of the year.

In contrast, the amount of cash and deposits of the corporation recorded a decrease from nearly VND3 trillion to VND2 trillion.

In terms of capital sources, short-term debt decreased from VND507 billion to VND494 billion ($18.77 million), but long-term debt increased by more than VND1 trillion to over VND3.61 trillion ($137.32 million).

VNDirect believes that this will create pressure on interest expenses from 2026, but the corporation is maintaining healthy liquidity and tightly controlling costs when expanding the rig fleet.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, PVD shares closed Friday at VND21,650 ($0.82) apiece.