DryShips Inc. (DRYS - Analyst Report) recently declared financial results for the first quarter of 2015.

Quarterly GAAP net loss was $59.2 million or 9 cents per share compared with a loss of $34.6 million or 8 cents in the year-ago quarter. However, the adjusted break-even earnings per share reported by the company compared unfavorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 3 cents. Meanwhile, quarterly total revenue stood at $492.1 million, up 7.6% year over year but below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $502 million.

Quarterly operating expenses totaled $427.8 million, up 16.7% year over year. The rise in expenses can be attributed to higher drilling rig operating costs. Operating income in the reported quarter was $64.9 million, down 28.5% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA was $242.1 million compared with $200.6 million in the prior-year quarter.

At the end of the first quarter of 2015, DryShips had $586.6 million of cash & cash equivalents and $5,920.1 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet compared with $658.9 million and $5,517.6 million, respectively, at the end of 2014. Meanwhile, the debt-to-capitalization ratio stood at 0.58 compared with 0.56 at the end of 2014.

Drybulk Carrier Segment

The Drybulk Carrier segment generated $45.6 million in revenues, up 14.6% year over year. Time charter equivalent (TCE) revenues were $35.9 million, up 20.8% from the year-ago quarter. TCE rate was pegged at $10,535, up 22.3% year over year. Total voyage days for fleet were 3,406, up 2% from the year-ago quarter.  

Oil Tanker Segment

The Tanker segment generated $50.1 million in revenues, up 15.7% year over year. TCE revenues came in at $31.7 million, up a strong 42.2% from the prior-year quarter. TCE rate stood at $35,203, up 42.1% year over year. Total voyage days for fleet were 900, flat year over year.  

Offshore Drilling Segment

Quarterly revenues from Drilling contracts were approximately $402.8 million, up 11.4% year over year. At the end of the reported quarter, this segment had an order backlog of $13.3 billion.  

Stocks to Consider
DryShips currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Better-ranked stocks in the shipping industry are Danaos Corporation (DAC - Snapshot Report), Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT - Snapshot Report) and Teekay Corporation (TK - Snapshot Report). All three stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).