Energy drilling contractor Nabors Industries Ltd last night reported a first-quarter loss of $398.3 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Bermudian-based company said it had a loss of $1.41 per share. Losses, adjusted for asset impairment costs and to account for discontinued operations, were 29 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 33 cents per share.

However, the company’s shares fell 4.9 per cent in after-hours trading in New York, after the results were released.

Nabors posted revenue of $597.6 million in the period, which missed analysts’ forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $633.5 million.

Nabors shares have climbed 22 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed 2 per cent.