Adnoc Drilling revenue hits record $3.7bn, dividend raised 22.5%

Key Points

1. Adnoc Drilling posted nine-month net profit of $1.07 billion, up 0.7% on record revenue of $3.7 billion.
2. The board approved a $350 million third-quarter dividend, lifting the 2026 total to $1.225 billion.
3. Growth now hinges on a new Drill-to-Operate strategy as third-quarter profit slipped 0.8%.

The latest:

Record nine-month revenue of $3.7 billion carried Adnoc Drilling to a net profit of $1.07 billion through September, a rise of 0.7% on the year, according to a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The board approved a third-quarter dividend of $350 million. Chief executive Abdulla Al Messabi tied the result to a highly contracted revenue base and the execution of the company’s growth strategy.

Details:

• The headline numbers: Net profit attributable to shareholders reached $1.07 billion for the first nine months of 2026, against $1.06 billion a year earlier, the company said. Revenue rose more than 2% to a record $3.7 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased 2% to $1.66 billion.
• The quarterly softness: For the three months to September 30, net profit attributable to owners fell 0.8% year-on-year to $365.4 million from $368.2 million. Revenue also edged lower in the quarter, leaving the nine-month gain driven by earlier periods rather than the most recent one.
• What drove revenue: Onshore drilling revenue rose 5% year-on-year, helped by the consolidation of regional operations, while offshore drilling revenue climbed 4% after new capacity was added, including an artificial-intelligence-enabled island rig deployed in June. Conventional oilfield services activity continued to expand.
• The drag: Gains were partly offset by the planned phasing of unconventional drilling activity and the repurposing of some onshore rigs, according to the company. Unconventional activity stayed below the level recorded a year earlier, a decline Adnoc Drilling attributed to scheduling rather than demand.
• The dividend: The third-quarter payout of $350 million combines a $262.5 million base distribution with an $87.5 million discretionary element. A further $87.5 million discretionary payment is expected in April, subject to shareholder approval, taking the 2026 total to $1.225 billion, up 22.5% on last year.
• The new strategy: The company launched Drill-to-Operate, described by Al Messabi as “a natural evolution” of the business, extending its role across the full well lifecycle. Adnoc Drilling said the phase is designed to generate more revenue from each well and widen its regional presence through oilfield services, Turnwell and Enersol.
• The national context: Adnoc Drilling sits inside the UAE push for 5 million barrels per day of crude production capacity by 2027. It expects further gasfield work as Adnoc commits $6.2 billion to the Umm Shaif gas cap project in Abu Dhabi, where the driller won a $365 million contract in July.
• The guidance: Full-year targets were left unchanged at $5 billion in revenue and about $1.45 billion in net profit, with free cash flow of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion excluding mergers and acquisitions. For 2027 the company forecasts low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth.
• The 2027 caveat: Net profit is expected to stay broadly stable next year, the company said, as higher depreciation and financing costs linked to expansion offset the benefit of increased activity. No figure was given for the scale of those costs.

Background:

Adnoc Drilling is the largest drilling company in the Middle East by rig count and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. It has spent recent years enlarging its fleet and oilfield services arm, including a regional acquisition in Oman, to capture more oil and gas development spending.

Between the lines:

The quarter cuts against the headline: a 0.8% profit decline and softer revenue in the three months to September sit beside a 22.5% dividend increase and unchanged full-year guidance. The company’s own 2027 outlook, flat profit on rising depreciation and financing costs, suggests the Drill-to-Operate expansion is being paid for now and expected to return value later.

What’s next

Fourth-quarter results will test the $5 billion revenue and $1.45 billion profit guidance. The second $87.5 million discretionary dividend tranche goes to shareholders for approval in April, and further Umm Shaif contract awards could follow.