ADNOC Drilling results: 9M profit $1.07bn, $350m payout

ADNOC Drilling results for the first nine months of 2026 show net profit of $1.07bn on record revenue of $3.7bn, the Abu Dhabi-listed company said on Tuesday, 27 October, alongside a $350m third-quarter dividend.

Revenue for January to September rose 2% to $3,707m from $3,626m a year earlier, according to the company’s results announcement filed with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. EBITDA climbed 2% to $1,663m, keeping the margin steady at 45%, while nine-month net profit edged up 1% from $1,060m.

Third-quarter net profit came in at $365.4m, down 0.8% from $368.2m in the same period of 2025. The company said planned phasing of unconventional drilling and the repurposing of some onshore rigs partly offset growth over the nine months.

ADNOC Drilling results by segment

Onshore drilling revenue grew 5% over the nine months, helped by the consolidation of regional operations. Offshore drilling revenue rose 4%, supported by new capacity that included an AI-enabled island rig delivered in June, with a second island rig joining the fleet during the third quarter.

Unconventional activity stayed below its 2025 level, the company said, while conventional oilfield services continued to expand. Two jack-up rigs were repurposed in the third quarter. At the end of September the fleet stood at 172 rigs, management said on the earnings call, against a long-term target of about 200.

The company is the largest drilling contractor in the Middle East by rig count, according to The National, and is central to the UAE’s plan to lift crude capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027. In July it won a $365m contract linked to ADNOC’s $6.2bn Umm Shaif gas cap project.

Drill-to-Operate strategy and dividend

The results were paired with the launch of a Drill-to-Operate strategy, which extends the company’s role beyond well construction into completions, intervention, production support, maintenance and optimisation. The plan rests on four growth drivers: sustained long-term activity, integrated services that capture more value per well, AI-enabled technology and regional partnerships.

“The launch of Drill-to-Operate is a natural evolution of ADNOC Drilling,” chief executive Abdulla Al Messabi said in the statement. Management said on the call that new services such as completions and artificial lift address a $4bn to $5bn market, with small contributions expected from 2027 and a meaningful ramp-up in 2028.

The ADNOC Drilling dividend for the third quarter totals $350m, approved by the board and made up of a $262.5m base payment and the first $87.5m tranche of a $175m discretionary payout. Shareholders on record as of 5 November will be paid in the second half of November, and the second tranche is expected around April 2027, subject to shareholder approval.

If approved, total dividends for 2026 would reach $1.225bn, 22.5% above 2025. The company’s progressive policy sets a 2026 floor of $1.05bn, rising by at least 5% a year through at least 2030.

Guidance for 2026 and 2027

Alongside the ADNOC Drilling results, the company kept its full-year 2026 guidance of revenue of about $5bn, EBITDA of about $2.2bn and net profit of about $1.45bn. Free cash flow excluding M&A is expected at $1.2bn to $1.3bn, with cash capital expenditure of about $0.6bn.

For 2027 the company expects low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth and broadly stable net profit, as higher depreciation and financing costs from expansion offset operational gains. Growth capital expenditure of about $0.5bn is planned for next year, with maintenance spending of up to $0.3bn annually.

For investors, the ADNOC Drilling results confirm what Al Messabi called a highly contracted revenue base that is holding up while the company shifts towards integrated services. The strategy also signals that Gulf oilfield services are moving from rig supply towards full well lifecycle contracts, a trend already visible in recent regional offshore awards such as NMDC Energy’s Aramco contract.

Chief financial officer Youssef Salem and Al Messabi hosted an earnings webcast on 27 October. The next scheduled milestone is the dividend record date on 5 November, followed by the fourth-quarter and full-year results. Further MENA corporate updates are available in the Outlook Middle East news section.