Diamond Offshore's Profit beats Street

Diamond Offshore Drilling reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as the company cut costs to cope with lower demand for its rigs amid a slump in oil prices.

The rig contractor has scrapped dividend, retired assets and scaled back drilling as it struggles against a fall of more than 60 percent in oil prices since mid-2014.

The company said on Friday its operating expenses fell by a third in the second quarter, excluding a $612 million impairment charge related to the writedown of eight offshore rigs.

Loews Corp, which owns a majority stake in Diamond Offshore, also posted a loss for the quarter as it recorded part of the charge and took a $49 million impairment charge related to its unit CNA Financial Corp.

Diamond Offshore reported a net loss of $589.9 million, or $4.30 per share, for the quarter ended June 30. The company had a profit of $87.4 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Diamond Offshore earned 16 cents per share, well above the average analyst estimate of 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The Houston-based company's total revenue fell 17.4 percent to $388.7 million.

Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto