insane dividends

[wzebra33]

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. said Thursday that its first-quarter net income fell 14 percent as lower rates drove down its contract drilling revenue. But the results beat analysts' expectations and the deepwater driller also announced a special cash dividend of 75 cents per share, on top of its regular quarterly cash dividend of 12.5 cents per share.

The dividends are payable on June 1 to shareholders of record on May 2.

Net income for the three months ended March 31 dropped to $251 million, or $1.80 per share, from $291 million, or $2.09 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 6 percent to $806 million from $860 million.

Analysts had expected earnings of $1.42 per share on revenue of $798 million, according to FactSet.

Shares rose $1.60, or 2 percent, to close at $78.