Cameron International Corp. said Thursday its first-quarter earnings rose 5 percent, but fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. It also raised its guidance for the year.
But investors were focused on a federal class action lawsuit over the oil spill resulting from a rig that exploded and sank last week that named Cameron as one of four defendants. Cameron made the so-called blowout preventers for the rig.
The suit was filed Wednesday on behalf of two commercial shrimpers from Louisiana. Transocean, which owns the rig, BP, which operated the rig, and Halliburton Energy Services Inc. are the other companies named in the lawsuit.
Cameron’s stock tumbled. It lost $5.84, or 13 percent, to reach $38.64 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $24.63 and $47.44 in the past year. Shares of BP and Transocean lost ground as well.
In the first quarter, Cameron earned $120.4 million, or 48 cents per share, an increase of 5 percent compared with $114.6 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose to $1.35 billion from $1.26 billion a year earlier. The Houston company attributed higher revenue to increased subsea project deliveries and the acquisition of NATCO Group Inc.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 51 cents on revenue of $1.45 billion.
For the full year, the company expects a profit of $2.20 to $2.30 per share, compared with earlier expectations of $2.10 to $2.20. Analysts expect $2.24 per share, on average.
“While we remain cautious about the near-term level of rig activity, particularly in North America, we are encouraged by the strengthening we’ve seen in several of our markets,” Cameron President and Chief Executive Jack B. Moore said in a statement.