Share Data

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Share Data [Abstract]

Share Data

Note 3 — Share Data

Share capital

The following is a detail of Noble-Swiss’ authorized share capital as of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

	June 30,		December 31,
	2012		2011
Shares outstanding and trading		252,507		252,352
Treasury shares		569		287
Total shares outstanding		253,076		252,639
Treasury shares held for share-based compensation plans		13,074		13,511
Total shares authorized for issuance		266,150		266,150
Par value per share (in Swiss Francs)		3.15		3.41

Repurchased treasury shares are recorded at cost, and include both shares repurchased pursuant to our Board of Directors approved share repurchase program and shares surrendered by employees for taxes payable upon the vesting of restricted stock. The number of shares that we may hold in treasury is limited under Swiss law. At June 30, 2012, 6.8 million shares remained available for repurchase under the authorization by the Board of Directors noted above. No shares were repurchased under this authorization during the six months ended June 30, 2012.

Our Board of Directors may further increase Noble-Swiss’ share capital through the issuance of up to 133.1 million authorized registered shares without obtaining shareholder approval. The issuance of these authorized registered shares is subject to certain conditions regarding their use.

In April 2012, our shareholders approved the payment of a dividend funded from our capital contribution reserve aggregating $0.52 per share to be paid in four equal installments scheduled for August 2012, November 2012, February 2013 and May 2013. These dividends will require us to make cash payments of approximately $66 million in 2012, based on the number of shares currently outstanding. In connection with this approval and the resulting obligation to shareholders, we recorded dividends payable of approximately $133 million during the second quarter of 2012. Any additional issuances of shares would further increase our obligation.

Earnings per share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share for Noble-Swiss:

	Three months ended						Six months ended
	June 30,						June 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Allocation of net income
Basic
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation	$	159,818		$	54,083		$	279,993		$	108,578
Earnings allocated to unvested share-based payment awards		(1,694	)		(572	)		(2,797	)		(1,083	)
Net income to common shareholders — basic	$	158,124		$	53,511		$	277,196		$	107,495
Diluted
Net income attributable to Noble Corporation	$	159,818		$	54,083		$	279,993		$	108,578
Earnings allocated to unvested share-based payment awards		(1,692	)		(572	)		(2,793	)		(1,082	)
Net income to common shareholders — diluted	$	158,126		$	53,511		$	277,200		$	107,496
Weighted average shares outstanding — basic		252,387			251,368			252,179			251,198
Incremental shares issuable from assumed exercise of stock options		358			700			425			737
Weighted average shares outstanding — diluted		252,745			252,068			252,604			251,935
Weighted average unvested share-based payment awards		2,704			2,688			2,555			2,554
Earnings per share
Basic	$	0.63		$	0.21		$	1.10		$	0.43
Diluted	$	0.63		$	0.21		$	1.10		$	0.43

Only those items having a dilutive impact on our basic earnings per share are included in diluted earnings per share. At June 30, 2012, stock options totaling approximately 1.2 million were excluded from the diluted earnings per share as they were not dilutive as compared to 0.7 million at June 30, 2011.