Exhibit 99.1

McDermott Provides Fourth Quarter Financial Update and 2004 Outlook

    HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2004--McDermott International,
Inc. (NYSE:MDR) ("McDermott" or the "Company") today provided a
preview on major items expected in its fourth quarter 2003 earnings
release based upon management's unaudited review. In addition, the
Company provided an outlook for its consolidated businesses for the
full year 2004.
    The Company plans to release its financial results for the fourth
quarter and full year 2003 during the evening of March 11, 2004, with
a conference call to occur March 12, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The
Company invites investors to listen to the call live or to the replay,
both available on McDermott's website, www.mcdermott.com, in the
investor relations section. As a matter of practice, Company
management does not engage in private conversations with investors
from the end of a quarterly period until earnings are actually
released.

    Major items of note expected in fourth quarter 2003 earnings
include:

    B&W Revaluation: McDermott expects the non-cash, after-tax
revaluation associated with The Babcock & Wilcox Company's ("B&W")
Chapter 11 settlement to be an expense of approximately $10 million in
the fourth quarter. The increase in the settlement expense during the
fourth quarter was primarily due to the improvement in McDermott's
stock price from $5.71 per share at September 30, 2003 to the year-end
closing price of $11.95 per share. This revaluation expense will
continue to fluctuate on a quarterly basis until the B&W bankruptcy is
resolved, and management does not consider it reflective of its
business operations.
    J. Ray: The marine construction services segment, consisting of J.
Ray McDermott, S.A. ("J. Ray"), is expected to report fourth quarter
2003 revenues of approximately $430 million and an operating loss in
the range of $55-$60 million. Certain projects previously disclosed by
management are expected to be included in J. Ray's fourth quarter 2003
operating loss, including anticipated losses on the Front Runner spar,
the Carina Aries project in Argentina and the Belanak FPSO project in
Batam Island, aggregating approximately $59 million. In addition, J.
Ray and its insurers resolved certain claims by a customer, which
resulted in a charge to J. Ray of approximately $5 million. Although
the following items do not meet the criteria for recording in J. Ray's
December 31, 2003 financial statements, J. Ray believes it has an
opportunity to recover up to $25 million of the losses incurred
during 2003 ("Potential Recoveries") through customer change orders,
negotiated settlements or legal proceedings. The timing of any such
recovery is uncertain. Although McDermott can provide no assurance
that it will recover any of the Potential Recoveries, any such
recovery would positively impact J. Ray's operating income in the
period in which it is received.
    BWXT: The government operations segment, consisting of BWX
Technologies, Inc. ("BWXT"), is expected to report fourth quarter 2003
revenues of approximately $150 million and operating income in the
range of $19-$21 million, including a reimbursement of corporate
expense of approximately $4.5 million and equity income from investees
of approximately $9 million.
    Corporate: Unallocated corporate expenses are expected to be
approximately $24 million, including nearly $19 million in non-cash
pension expense.
    Other: Consolidated net interest expense is expected to be
approximately $7 million, due to increased borrowings and interest
expense associated with J. Ray's 11 percent, 10-year senior secured
note offering completed in early December and low interest rates
earned on the Company's cash investments. The Company's provision for
income taxes is expected to be approximately $2-$4 million.
    Consolidated: On a consolidated basis, McDermott International,
Inc. expects to record a net loss from continuing operations for the
fourth quarter in a range of $77-$84 million.

    2004 Operational Outlook

    McDermott's management expects that its 2004 financial results
will continue to reflect J. Ray's turnaround process. Management is
continuing its practice of not providing specific earnings per share
guidance but is providing this operational update on its consolidated
businesses and major categories.
    J. Ray: J. Ray's current backlog of signed contracts at December
31, 2003 was approximately $1.4 billion. This backlog is anticipated
to produce 2004 revenues of approximately $0.9 billion, not including
any additional contracts that may be awarded and performed during the
year. Approximately $0.2 billion of this amount is revenue from
contracts currently, and expected to remain, in a loss position. J.
Ray has bids for new contracts outstanding in the $1.9 billion range,
and it expects to book additional work during 2004, which would
contribute to revenue and operating income. However, the timing and
certainty of these potential contracts are not known. Without awards
of additional contracts or the benefit of Potential Recoveries, the
current backlog of work for 2004 alone would be insufficient to
produce meaningful operating income at J. Ray. Several contracts
expected to be signed in the fourth quarter 2003 experienced delays,
which will impact our 2004 results. The delay of these awards is
expected to have a greater impact on the first and second quarters of
this year. As previously announced, excluding asset sales, J. Ray
anticipates incurring negative cash flows for three of the four
quarters in 2004. Although J. Ray completed a $200 million senior
secured note offering in early-December, it has yet to complete the
anticipated letter of credit facility. As a result, J. Ray's liquidity
has been, and will continue, to be strained due to its cash losses and
lack of a letter of credit capacity. J. Ray intends to improve its
liquidity position through a new letter of credit facility, and sales
of non-strategic assets.
    BWXT: BWXT is expected to continue producing strong financial
results. Its year-end 2003 backlog of approximately $1.8 billion is
expected to produce 2004 revenues of approximately $515 million, not
including any new contracts that may be awarded during the year.
BWXT's strong commitment to cost containment, in addition to the
potential for new service contract awards, leads management to believe
operating margins should remain consistent with 2003 levels, on a
comparable basis.
    Corporate: The Company expects to incur 2004 unallocated corporate
expenses in the range of $75-$80 million, with non-cash pension
expense representing approximately $63 million of that range.
    Other items: Consolidated interest expense is expected to increase
in 2004 to approximately $35 million, largely due to the December 2003
issuance of J. Ray's $200 million, 11 percent 10-year senior secured
notes and the fees associated with BWXT's three-year $135 million
revolving credit facility. The Company does not expect to receive a
tax benefit from the interest expense incurred by J. Ray. Interest
income is expected to be roughly the same as 2003. The Company and its
subsidiaries pay various forms of tax in numerous different
jurisdictions. It is extremely difficult to accurately forecast a tax
rate or tax amount for the full year.

    In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott International,
Inc. cautions that all statements in this press release which are
forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties that may impact
McDermott's actual results of operations. Forward-looking comments
contained in this release include the expected date of the Company's
earnings release, the major items and amounts expected in that
earnings release and the expectations associated with the Company's
2004 operational outlook. Although McDermott's management believes
that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements
are reasonable, McDermott can give no assurance that those
expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are
made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to
numerous uncertainties and risks. If one or more of these risks
materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete
discussion of these risk factors, please see McDermott's annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and its reports on
Form 10-Q which are filed quarterly.

    CONTACT: McDermott International, Inc.
             Jay Roueche, 281-870-5011
             jroueche@mcdermott.com
             www.mcdermott.com