8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) November 7, 2007

PARKER DRILLING COMPANY

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

1-7573	73-0618660
(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

1401 Enclave Parkway, Suite 600, Houston, Texas	77077
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

(281) 406-2000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

     Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition

     On November 7, 2007, Parker Drilling Company (the “Registrant”) issued a press release announcing results of operations for the third quarter of 2007.

     A copy of this press release is attached as Exhibit 99 to this Report on Form 8-K. This information is being furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of Form 8-K and shall not be deemed “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (d) Exhibits.

     The following exhibit is furnished herewith:

     99 Press release dated November 7, 2007, issued by the Company

SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	Parker Drilling Company
Date: November 7, 2007	By:	/s/ W. Kirk Brassfield
		W. Kirk Brassfield
		Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

2

Index to Exhibits

99 Press release dated November 7, 2007 issued by the Company.

3

EX-99

Exhibit 99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Investor Contact:      David Tucker 281-406-2370
November 7, 2007

Parker Drilling Third Quarter 2007 EBITDA Increases 39 Percent to $74 Million

HOUSTON, November 7, 2007 — Parker Drilling Company (NYSE: PKD), a global drilling contractor and service provider, today reported strong financial and operating results for the third quarter 2007. Highlights include:

• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 39 percent over the third quarter 2006;

• Net income increased 22 percent over the third quarter 2006;

• EBITDA generated by Parker’s international land drilling segment nearly tripled in comparison to the third quarter of 2006;

• Both U.S. barge rig operations and Quail Tools generated record EBITDA;

• International land rig utilization increased to 75 percent, up from 55 percent in the third quarter last year;

• Remaining Floating Rate Notes of $100 million were redeemed;

• An Amended and Restated Credit Agreement was finalized, increasing available credit from $40 million to $60 million and extending the facility for five years.

Robert L. Parker Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Parker Drilling, said: “All three of our operating segments turned in excellent performances during the third quarter. As forecast, these results were driven by dramatically increased contributions from our international operations and a record quarter for both Quail Tools and our U.S. barge rig operations.”

Third Quarter Earnings and Financial Highlights

For the three months ended September 30, 2007, Parker reported earnings of $22.7 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, on revenues of $172.2 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007, compared to revenues of $146.8 million and net income of $18.6 million or $0.17 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2006. Net income in the third quarter of 2007 included net expense of $1.6 million or $0.02 per diluted share, which was the result of $2.4 million of debt extinguishment cost, $1.1 million provision for carrying value and a non-cash credit to tax expense of $0.5 million for potential interest and exchange rate fluctuations relating to a tax liability recorded on January 1, 2007, associated with the adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” (“FIN 48”).

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $74.2 million for the third quarter of 2007, 39 percent higher than the $53.2 million reported in the third quarter of 2006. Higher dayrates and utilization resulted in a seven percent EBITDA improvement for Parker’s U.S. Gulf of Mexico barge rigs over the prior year’s quarter. Quail Tools, Parker’s drilling and production rental tools subsidiary, also achieved record EBITDA of $20.9 million, which topped the record set in the third quarter of 2006. For the first nine months of 2007, total EBITDA was $192.1 million, a 25 percent increase over the $153.3 million for 2006. (The details of the EBITDA calculation, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the current and prior eight quarters are defined and reconciled later in this press release to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.)

For the first nine months of 2007, Parker reported revenues of $473.7 million and net income of $69.5 million or $0.63 per diluted share compared to revenues of $440.1 million and net income of $43.9 million or $0.41 per diluted share for the first nine months of 2006. Included in 2007 results is an after—tax gain of $0.07 per diluted share from the sale of two workover barge rigs in January, non-cash FIN 48 charges of $0.05 per diluted share and after-tax charges of $0.02 per diluted share for debt extinguishment and provision for carrying value. Included in 2006 results was net income of $0.02 per diluted share for gains recorded on the disposition of two Nigerian barges and US barge rig 57, offset by debt extinguishment costs.

Capital expenditures for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 totaled $191.4 million. Total debt increased to $354 million due to the issuance of $125 million of Convertible Notes and subsequent redemption of $100 million of our Floating Rate notes. The Company’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $67.0 million at September 30, 2007.

Average utilization for barge rigs drilling in the Gulf of Mexico transition zone for the third quarter 2007 was 83 percent, up from the 72 percent reported for the third quarter 2006 and the 74 percent reported for the second quarter 2007. Current barge rig utilization is 81 percent. The Company’s deep drilling barge dayrates in the Gulf of Mexico were up approximately $2,100 per day from the third quarter 2006, but decreased to $47,900 from the record level of $51,600 per day posted during the second quarter 2007. (Average dayrates for each classification of barge by quarter are available on Parker’s website and can be viewed or downloaded by going to “Investor Relations” and then to “Dayrates — GOM.”)

The average utilization of international land rigs for the third quarter 2007 increased to 75 percent, up from the 71 percent reported for the second quarter 2007 and 55 percent in the third quarter 2006. Current international utilization is 82 percent and is expected to further increase during 2007 as rigs continue to reposition to new contracts.

Summary

Parker continued, “Internationally, we began to realize the substantial benefits of repositioning our international fleet to long-term contracts with strong margins, and we anticipate this performance to continue, as demonstrated in today’s announcement of new contracts in Mexico and Kazakhstan.

“North Africa/Middle East is a strategic, long-term growth market for us and the scope of our Saudi Arabian joint venture is significant. By early next year, we expect to have six rigs working under three-year initial commitments for drilling with the option to extend to a fourth year. The joint venture, however, has experienced delays and cost overruns during the construction and commissioning phase of the project and as a result, we recognized a $1.1 million non-cash charge. We also plan to invest an additional $20 to $25 million to finish construction and commissioning of the rigs and expect to have all six rigs operational by the second quarter of 2008, solidifying our initial presence in this strategic market.

“Quail Tools quickly rebounded from a flat second quarter with record-breaking third quarter results. The $50 million expansion of Quail was completed during the third quarter, and results reflect added rental tools and the impact of Quail’s new facility in Texarkana, Texas. We continue to remain confident in the growth of this segment.

“We expect that fourth quarter and early 2008 contributions from our U.S. segment will remain substantial but slightly lower than previous quarters due to a moderate decline in dayrates and utilization, as one of our deep barge rigs was down in October and some intermediate barge rigs may experience gaps between contracts in the fourth quarter. However, all of our deep barge rigs are now committed through the remainder of 2007.

“Demand is strong for our brand of high-performance drilling solutions that reduce the total cost of drilling and enable our customers to explore and develop oil and gas reserves in frontier environments. Looking ahead to the remainder of this year and into 2008, I am confident we will continue to deliver strong returns across our operating segments and execute our strategic growth plan.”

Parker Drilling has scheduled a conference call at 10 a.m. CST (11 a.m. EST) November 7, 2007 to discuss third quarter 2007 results. Those interested in participating in the call may dial in at 303-262-2137. The conference call replay can be accessed from November 7 through November 14 by dialing (800) 405-2236 and using the access code 11099460#. Alternatively, the call can be accessed live through the Company’s website at http://www.parkerdrilling.com and will be archived on the site for 12 months.

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Acts. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including earnings per share guidance, the outlook for rig utilization and dayrates, general industry conditions including demand for drilling and customer spending, competitive advantages including cost effective integrated solutions, future technological innovation, future operating results of the Company’s rigs and rental tool operations, capital expenditures, expansion and growth opportunities, asset sales, successful negotiation of contracts, strengthening of financial position, increase in market share and other such matters, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations stated in this release are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations, please refer to the Company’s reports filed with the SEC, and in particular, the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statement.

PARKER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Condensed Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2007			2006			2007			2006
	(Dollars in Thousands)						(Dollars in Thousands)
DRILLING AND RENTAL REVENUES
U.S. Drilling	$	59,700		$	52,347		$	178,975		$	135,297
International Drilling		76,997			61,605			197,867			214,407
Rental Tools		35,500			32,831			96,905			90,401
TOTAL DRILLING AND RENTAL REVENUES		172,197			146,783			473,747			440,105
DRILLING AND RENTAL OPERATING EXPENSES
U.S. Drilling		25,563			20,944			76,940			58,228
International Drilling		51,618			52,280			148,018			171,506
Rental Tools		14,579			12,349			38,263			33,788
Depreciation and Amortization		23,043			16,993			60,744			51,665
TOTAL DRILLING AND RENTAL OPERATING EXPENSES		114,803			102,566			323,965			315,187
DRILLING AND RENTAL OPERATING INCOME		57,394			44,217			149,782			124,918
General and Administrative Expense		(6,246	)		(7,992	)		(18,380	)		(23,261	)
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets		(1,091	)		—			(1,091	)		—
Gain on Disposition of Assets, Net		543			4,328			17,216			6,901
TOTAL OPERATING INCOME		50,600			40,553			147,527			108,558
OTHER INCOME AND (EXPENSE)
Interest Expense		(7,576	)		(7,923	)		(19,891	)		(25,223	)
Change in Fair Value of Derivative Position		(262	)		(1,029	)		(671	)		166
Interest Income		2,080			2,521			5,576			5,966
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt		(2,396	)		(1,910	)		(2,396	)		(1,912	)
Equity in Loss of Unconsolidated Joint Venture, Net of Taxes		(1,123	)		—			(1,123	)		—
Other Income (Expense) — Net		510			(400	)		(413	)		(1,334	)
TOTAL OTHER INCOME AND (EXPENSE)		(8,767	)		(8,741	)		(18,918	)		(22,337	)
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES		41,833			31,812			128,609			86,221
INCOME TAX EXPENSE
Current Tax Expense		14,598			1,166			43,223			10,692
Deferred Tax Expense		4,582			12,007			15,879			31,671
TOTAL INCOME TAX EXPENSE		19,180			13,173			59,102			42,363
NET INCOME	$	22,653		$	18,639		$	69,507		$	43,858
EARNINGS PER SHARE — BASIC
Net Income	$	0.21		$	0.17		$	0.64		$	0.41
EARNINGS PER SHARE — DILUTED
Net Income	$	0.20		$	0.17		$	0.63		$	0.41
AVERAGE COMMON SHARES OUTSTANDING
Basic		110,270,207			107,233,881			109,269,867			106,272,123
Diluted		111,278,430			108,211,580			110,522,914			107,766,841

PARKER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)

	September 30, 2007			December 31, 2006
	(Dollars in Thousands)
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and Cash Equivalents	$	66,954		$	92,203
Marketable Securities		—			62,920
Accounts and Notes Receivable, Net		161,500			112,359
Rig Materials and Supplies		21,509			15,000
Deferred Costs		9,872			6,662
Deferred Income Taxes		17,307			17,307
Other Current Assets		44,663			11,123
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS		321,805			317,574
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, NET		562,952			435,473
OTHER ASSETS
Goodwill		100,315			100,315
Deferred Taxes		21,179			13,405
Other Assets		74,689			34,534
TOTAL OTHER ASSETS		196,183			148,254
TOTAL ASSETS	$	1,080,940		$	901,301
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Current Portion of Long-Term Debt	$	—		$	—
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities		104,282			101,903
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES		104,282			101,903
LONG-TERM DEBT		353,882			329,368
LONG-TERM DEFERRED TAXES		15,181			—
OTHER LIABILITIES		110,009			10,931
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY		497,586			459,099
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$	1,080,940		$	901,301
Current Ratio		3.09			3.12
Total Long-Term Debt as a Percent of Capitalization		42	%		42	%
Book Value Per Common Share	$	4.45		$	4.21

PARKER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Financial Data
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	September 30,						June 30,
	2007			2006			2007
	(Dollars in Thousands)
DRILLING AND RENTAL REVENUES
U.S. Offshore Drilling	$	58,197		$	52,347		$	54,316
U.S. Land Drilling		1,503			—			3,335
International Land Drilling		66,976			48,146			52,268
International Offshore Drilling		10,021			13,459			8,928
Rental Tools		35,500			32,831			31,430
Total Drilling and Rental Revenues		172,197			146,783			150,277
DRILLING AND RENTAL OPERATING EXPENSES
U.S. Offshore Drilling		24,457			20,944			21,551
U.S. Land Drilling		1,106			—			3,065
International Land Drilling		44,966			40,491			45,019
International Offshore Drilling		6,652			11,789			5,598
Rental Tools		14,579			12,349			12,521
Total Drilling and Rental Operating Expenses		91,760			85,573			87,754
DRILLING AND RENTAL OPERATING INCOME
U.S. Offshore Drilling		33,740			31,403			32,765
U.S. Land Drilling		397			—			270
International Land Drilling		22,010			7,655			7,249
International Offshore Drilling		3,369			1,670			3,330
Rental Tools		20,921			20,482			18,909
Depreciation and Amortization		(23,043	)		(16,993	)		(19,642	)
Total Drilling and Rental Operating Income		57,394			44,217			42,881
General and Administrative Expense		(6,246	)		(7,992	)		(6,246	)
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value of Certain Assets		(1,091	)		—			—
Gain on Disposition of Assets, Net		543			4,328			269
TOTAL OPERATING INCOME	$	50,600		$	40,553		$	36,904

Marketable Rig Count Summary
As of September 30, 2007

	Total
U.S. Land Rigs		1
U.S. Gulf of Mexico Barge Rigs
Workover		3
Intermediate		3
Deep		10
Total U.S. Gulf of Mexico Barge Rigs		16
International Land Rigs
Asia Pacific		9
Africa — Middle East		3
Latin America		7
CIS		8
Total International Land Rigs		27
International Barge Rigs
Mexico		1
Caspian Sea		1
Total International Barge Rigs		2
Total Marketable Rigs		46

Adjusted EBITDA
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ending
	September 30, 2007			June 30, 2007			March 31, 2007			December 31, 2006			September 30, 2006			June 30, 2006			March 31, 2006			December 31, 2005			September 30, 2005
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations	$	22,653		$	18,103		$	29,994		$	37,168		$	18,639		$	13,761		$	11,458		$	56,707		$	18,073
Adjustments:
Income Tax Expense		19,179			14,570			24,109			(5,954	)		13,173			14,694			14,496			(39,087	)		2,165
Total Other Income and Expense		8,768			4,231			5,920			3,554			8,741			5,731			7,865			10,251			9,627
Loss/(Gain) on Disposition of Assets, Net		(543	)		(269	)		(16,404	)		(672	)		(4,328	)		(2,125	)		(448	)		(3,185	)		(5,943	)
Depreciation and Amortization		23,043			19,642			18,059			17,605			16,993			17,715			16,957			16,619			16,563
Provision for Reduction in Carrying Value		1,091			—			—			—			—			—			—			2,584			2,300
Adjusted EBITDA	$	74,191		$	56,277		$	61,678		$	51,701		$	53,218		$	49,776		$	50,328		$	43,889		$	42,785