Odfjell Drilling’s year was framed by hard contracts, not headlines, including a fresh letter of award from Vår Energi worth $518m for Deepsea Bergen that pushes firm backlog into 2031. For Odfjell Drilling shareholders, the return over the past year was 44.8%, including dividends. If you had been weighing a purchase a year ago, what conviction about future contracts and cash generation would you have needed before any of this news arrived?
If the move has made Odfjell Drilling harder to judge, start where the gap is still open and scan 194 high quality undervalued stocks.
The shares cost NOK79 at the start of the period, and anyone looking at Odfjell Drilling had to decide which story about the next few years felt more realistic.
The bullish narrative pointed to a Fair Value of NOK95.1. This was a rough guide to what that camp thought the stock could be worth if its assumptions landed, built on a fully modern fleet and expected revenue growth of 3.9% with profit margins reaching 20.7% on long contracts.
The bearish view anchored on a Fair Value of NOK67.3. It was tied to concerns about North Sea dependence and regulatory pressure, even though it still assumed revenue growth of 3.1% and margins rising to 19.2% while client concentration risk stayed front of mind.
The Vår Energi letter of award for Deepsea Bergen, worth $518m and extending backlog to early 2031, clearly supported the bullish focus on long contracts. Q3 2026 numbers told a tougher story. Revenue rose to $276.1m from $233.7m, while net income slipped to $51.4m and net margin moved from 23.6% to 18.6%. The evidence cut both ways.
The clear hinge for Odfjell Drilling was not opinion about energy demand. The real test was whether long-term contracts showed up as growing backlog and resilient margins. When you assess another contractor, track both the size and duration of its backlog alongside the trend in net margin from one year to the next.
With Odfjell Drilling now at NOK104 after a 44.8% gain over the past year, this Narrative’s Fair Value sits above the current price based on its own assumptions, not objective truth.
The Narrative leans on tight rig supply, contract cover and incident response, and argues today’s price still does not fully credit sustained high utilization on long contracts with controlled operational risk.
"The current valuation implies the share price does not fully reflect the combination of firm backlog visibility, ongoing deleveraging, and regular dividends that Odfjell Drilling is already producing."
One Narrative has put a figure on that disagreement. → See the Narrative with its higher Fair Value, assumptions and all
Thinking about Odfjell Drilling’s contracts and backlog, one question keeps returning. What if the real hinge is cash resilience, not just rig days?
Another energy group leans on a different mix to chase that resilience. It combines low cost hydrocarbon projects with a growing power business to smooth shocks.
Both want relatively steady cash generation when commodity prices jolt. One leans on rigs under contract, the other on project selection and power earnings.
If you want a parallel to Odfjell Drilling’s visibility puzzle, that mix is a useful reference point. Especially as methane reduction and carbon costs begin to matter more.
One Narrative has already put a figure on it. → Uncover the company trading 18% below one Narrative's Fair Value
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com