Transocean Profit Tops Estimates as Tax Relief Offsets Slump

Transocean Ltd. posted a better profit than analysts expected as the world’s largest offshore rig owner races to slash costs to cope with falling demand for deep-water oil drilling. Lower taxes helped.

Thanks largely to a tax rate that was half the one for the previous quarter, the company’s adjusted per-share profit for the third quarter exceeded by 22 cents the 65-cent average of 31 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. But sales tumbled 29 percent to $1.61 billion.

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