ADNOC Drilling Posts $706 Million First-Half Profit, Sees 2026 Earnings Reaching $1.50 Billion
Key Facts
ADNOC Drilling posted net profit of $706 million in the first half of 2026, up 2% year on year, while revenue rose to $2.46 billion, up 4%. In its first-half results, the company said revenue benefited from strong activity levels, while profit reflected cost discipline and improved efficiency. The official figures available for the period come after an earlier draft attributed $1.07 billion in profit to the company for the first nine months of the year, a figure that is not supported by the first-half results. Official nine-month data could also not be verified from the information available. The company reaffirmed its full-year financial guidance, making results for the following months critical to assessing its progress toward those targets.
The company detailed the sources of its performance, saying growth was supported by strong expansion in oilfield services, disciplined execution and a highly contracted revenue base. It added that oilfield services continued to expand as the main growth driver. The available figures do not state a separate value for these services in the first half, so no specific share of the $2.46 billion in revenue can be attributed to them. The company also said its operations continued without interruption throughout the period, supported by strong execution and higher fleet availability. This puts operating continuity and equipment availability among the factors supporting activity, alongside services growth and disciplined execution.
ADNOC Drilling reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for revenue of about $5 billion and net profit of between $1.45 billion and $1.50 billion. The guidance means first-half results represent part of the annual trajectory set by the company, but the available figures do not provide the nine-month result needed to measure progress after midyear. In fiscal 2025, the company posted revenue of $4.9 billion, up 22%, and net profit of $1.45 billion, up 11%. This provides an annual baseline for comparison with 2026 guidance, but does not by itself establish that current forecasts will be met. The company did not announce a change to its guidance in the first-half results.
On shareholder returns, the company announced $525 million in dividends for the first half of 2026, including $262.5 million for the second quarter. It said strong free cash flow supports quarterly dividends, linking its capacity to distribute cash with cash generation during the period. In October 2025, it approved a policy targeting distributions of at least $6.8 billion from 2025 to 2030. The policy provides a longer-term framework for distributions, while the first-half amount is the sum announced for the current period. The available figures did not include further details on first-half free cash flow.
On operational expansion, the company deployed the AD-300 rig in June 2026, ahead of schedule. It is the company’s first AI-powered automated island rig. The company said the rig is expected to begin contributing in the second half of the year, placing the start of its contribution in the period after the first-half results. In May, the company described first-quarter performance as reflecting the resilience of its model, citing long-term contracts, high fleet utilization and cost management discipline. These factors point to the operational foundations the company cited to explain its performance, while it did not specify a separate financial value for the expected impact of the new rig. It also said 2027 and later guidance would be issued after it determines the delivery phases for additional rigs and the volumes of additional oilfield services.
According to the company’s financial calendar, the third-quarter results were tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27, 2026, subject to confirmation. The calendar provisionally listed Feb. 11, 2027, for fourth-quarter 2026 results. These milestones will provide a later update on revenue and profit against the annual guidance, after the official figures available here were limited to the first half. In the first nine months of 2025, the company posted revenue of $3.63 billion and net profit of $1.06 billion, up 27% and 17%, respectively. Results for the prior-year comparison period provide a baseline when 2026 data are released, but do not establish the current year’s outcome.