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Description Of The Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Description Of The Business And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
 
References to the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” in this Annual Report are to Valaris Limited, together with its consolidated subsidiaries.

Business

We are a leading provider of offshore contract drilling services to the international oil and gas industry with operations in almost every major offshore market across six continents. We own the world's largest offshore drilling rig fleet, including one of the newest ultra-deepwater fleets in the industry and a leading premium jackup fleet. As of February 20, 2025, we own 52 rigs, including 13 drillships, four dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, one moored semisubmersible rig, 34 jackup rigs and a 50% equity interest in Saudi Aramco Rowan Offshore Drilling Company ("ARO"), our 50/50 unconsolidated joint venture with Saudi Aramco, which owns an additional nine rigs.

Our customers include many of the leading international and government-owned oil and gas companies, in addition to many independent operators. We are among the most geographically diverse offshore drilling companies with global operations. The markets in which we operate include the Gulf of Mexico, South America, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

We provide drilling services on a day rate contract basis. Under day rate contracts, we provide an integrated service that includes the provision of a drilling rig and rig crews for which we receive a daily rate that may vary between the full rate and zero rate throughout the duration of the contractual term, depending on the operations of the rig. We also may receive lump-sum fees or similar compensation for the mobilization, demobilization and capital upgrades of our rigs. Our customers bear substantially all of the costs of constructing the well and supporting drilling operations as well as the economic risk relative to the success of the well.

Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Valaris Limited, those of our wholly-owned subsidiaries and entities in which we hold a controlling financial interest. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Investments in operating entities in which we have the ability to exercise significant influence, but where we do not control operating and financial policies, are accounted for using the equity method. Significant influence generally exists if we have an ownership interest representing between 20% and 50% of the voting stock of the investee. We account for our interest in ARO using the equity method of accounting and only recognize our portion of equity in earnings in our consolidated financial statements. ARO is a variable interest entity; however, we are not the primary beneficiary and therefore do not consolidate ARO.
Reclassification

Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In addition, the Total operating revenues and Total contract drilling expenses (exclusive of depreciation) line items presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, were further disaggregated to separately disclose Reimbursable revenues and Reimbursable expenses, respectively, to align with the updated presentation of our segment tables upon the adoption of ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures ("Update 2023-07") effective January 1, 2024 (see "Note 13 - Segment Information"). The disaggregation of these line items is presentational only and was retrospectively applied to the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. There were no impacts to the overall Total operating revenues or Total contract drilling expense (exclusive of depreciation) line items.

Pervasiveness of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") requires us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the related revenues and expenses and disclosures of gain and loss contingencies as of the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Foreign Currency Remeasurement and Translation

Our functional currency is the United States (the "U.S.") dollar. As is customary in the oil and gas industry, a majority of our revenues and expenses are denominated in U.S. dollars; however, a portion of the revenues earned and expenses incurred by certain of our subsidiaries are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. These transactions are remeasured in U.S. dollars based on a combination of both current and historical exchange rates. Most transaction gains and losses are included in Other, net, in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.  Certain gains and losses from the translation of foreign currency balances of our non-U.S. dollar functional currency subsidiaries are included in Accumulated other comprehensive income on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Net foreign currency exchange gains and losses were $13.8 million of gains, $3.5 million of losses and $12.2 million of gains, and were included in Other, net, in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

Highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase are considered cash equivalents. Highly liquid investments with maturities of greater than three months but less than one year at the date of purchase are classified as short-term investments.

There were no short-term investments as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. Cash flows from purchases and maturities of short-term investments were classified as investing activities in our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2022. To mitigate our credit risk, our investments in time deposits have historically been diversified across multiple, high-quality financial institutions.
    
Property and Equipment

All costs incurred in connection with the acquisition, construction, major enhancement and improvement of assets are capitalized, including allocations of interest incurred during periods that our drilling rigs are under construction or undergoing major enhancements and improvements. Costs incurred to place an asset into service are capitalized, including costs related to the initial mobilization of a newbuild drilling rig. Repair and maintenance costs are charged to contract drilling expense in the period in which they are incurred. Upon the sale or retirement of assets, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the balance sheet, and the resulting gain or loss is included in Other, net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We have identified the significant components of our drilling rigs and ascribe useful lives based on the expected time until the next required overhaul or the end of the expected economic lives of the components.

Our property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis, after allowing for salvage values, over the estimated useful lives of our assets. Drilling rigs and related equipment are depreciated over estimated useful lives ranging from three to 35 years. Buildings and improvements are depreciated over estimated useful lives ranging from 10 to 30 years. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of the asset useful life or lease term. Other equipment, including computer and communications hardware and software, is depreciated over estimated useful lives ranging from two to six years.

We evaluate the carrying value of our property and equipment, primarily our drilling rigs, on a quarterly basis to identify events or changes in circumstances ("triggering events") that indicate that the carrying value of such rigs may not be recoverable. For property and equipment used in our operations, recoverability generally is determined by comparing the carrying value of an asset to the expected undiscounted future cash flows of the asset. If the carrying value of an asset is not recoverable, the amount of impairment loss is measured as the difference between the carrying value of the asset and its estimated fair value. Property and equipment held-for-sale is recorded at the lower of net book value or fair value less cost to sell.

In June 2022, a drilling contract awarded to VALARIS DS-11 was terminated prior to commencement. At that time, we had capitalized certain costs incurred to upgrade the rig pursuant to the requirements of the contract, which upon termination were determined to be impaired. As a result, we recorded pre-tax, non-cash impairment losses related to long-lived assets of $34.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2022. See "Note 2 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers" for additional information on the contract termination.
    
Operating Revenues and Expenses    
See "Note 2 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers" for information on our accounting policies for revenue recognition and certain operating costs that are deferred and amortized over future periods.
    
Income Taxes

We conduct operations and earn income in numerous countries. Current income taxes are recognized for the amount of taxes payable or refundable based on the laws and income tax rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which operations are conducted and income is earned.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities using the enacted tax rates in effect at year-end. A valuation allowance for deferred tax assets is recorded when it is more-likely-than-not that the benefit from the deferred tax asset will not be realized. We do not offset deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities attributable to different tax paying jurisdictions.

We operate in certain jurisdictions where tax laws relating to the offshore drilling industry are not well developed and change frequently. Furthermore, we may enter into transactions with affiliates or employ other tax planning strategies that generally are subject to complex tax regulations. As a result of the foregoing, the tax liabilities and assets we recognize in our financial statements may differ from the tax positions taken, or expected to be taken, in our tax returns. Our tax positions are evaluated for recognition as unrecognized tax benefits using a more-likely-than-not threshold, and those requiring recognition are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon effective settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. Interest and penalties relating to income taxes are included in Current income tax expense in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Our drilling rigs frequently move from one taxing jurisdiction to another based on where they are contracted to perform drilling services. The movement of drilling rigs among taxing jurisdictions may involve a transfer of drilling rig ownership among our subsidiaries through an intercompany rig sale. The pre-tax profit resulting from an intercompany rig sale is eliminated from our consolidated financial statements, and the carrying value of a rig sold in an intercompany transaction remains at the historical net depreciated cost prior to the transaction. Our consolidated financial statements do not reflect the asset disposition transaction of the selling subsidiary or the asset acquisition transaction of the acquiring subsidiary. The income tax effects resulting from intercompany rig sales are recognized in earnings in the period in which the sale occurs.

In some instances, we may determine that certain temporary differences will not result in a taxable or deductible amount in future years, as it is more-likely-than-not we will commence operations and depart from a given taxing jurisdiction without such temporary differences being recovered or settled. Under these circumstances, no future tax consequences are expected and no deferred taxes are recognized in connection with such operations. We evaluate these determinations on a periodic basis and, in the event our expectations relative to future tax consequences change, the applicable deferred taxes are recognized or derecognized.

We do not provide deferred taxes on the undistributed earnings of certain subsidiaries because our policy and intention is to reinvest such earnings indefinitely. Should we make a distribution from these subsidiaries in the form of dividends or otherwise, we may be subject to additional income taxes.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development issued Pillar Two rules introducing a new global minimum tax of 15% applied on a country-by-country basis effective on January 1, 2024. Certain jurisdictions have enacted new tax laws to align with the recommendations under Pillar Two, while other jurisdictions have proposed or are actively considering changes to existing tax laws based on the new rules. The impact of the Pillar Two model rules, which have been enacted to date, was not significant to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. There remains uncertainty as to how global legislation relating to Pillar Two will evolve and we will continue to monitor developments related to this initiative and the potential impact on future periods.

See "Note 10 - Income Taxes" for additional information on our income taxes.

Share-Based Compensation

We sponsor share-based compensation plans that provide equity compensation to our key employees, officers and non-employee directors. Our 2021 Management Incentive Plan (the “MIP”) allows our board of directors to authorize equity-based grants to be settled in cash, shares or a combination of shares and cash. Compensation expense for time-based equity awards to be settled in shares is measured at fair value on the date of grant and recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period (usually the vesting period).

Compensation expense for performance awards is recognized over the requisite service period using the accelerated method and is reduced for forfeited awards in the period in which the forfeitures occur. For our performance awards that cliff vest and require the employee to render service through the vesting date, even though attainment of performance objectives might be earlier, our expense under the accelerated method would be a ratable expense over the vesting period. Equity-settled performance awards generally vest at the end of a three-year measurement period based on attainment of performance goals. The estimated probable outcome of attainment of the specified performance goals is based primarily on relative performance over the requisite performance period. Any subsequent changes in this estimate as it relates to performance objectives are recognized as a cumulative adjustment to compensation cost in the period in which the change in estimate occurs, except in the case of objectives based on a market condition, such as our stock price. Compensation cost for awards based on a market performance objective is recognized as long as the requisite service period is completed and will not be reversed even if the market-based objective is never satisfied. Any adjustments to the compensation cost recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for awards that are forfeited are recognized in the period in which the
forfeitures occur. See "Note 8 - Share Based Compensation" for additional information on our share-based compensation.

Pension and Other Post-retirement Benefit Plans

We measure our actuarially determined obligations and related costs for our defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans, retiree life and medical supplemental plan benefits by applying assumptions, the most significant of which include long-term rate of return on plan assets, discount rates and mortality rates. For the long-term rate of return, we develop our assumptions regarding the expected rate of return on plan assets based on historical experience and projected long-term investment returns, and we weight the assumptions based on each plan's asset allocation. For the discount rate, we base our assumptions on a yield curve approach. Actual results may differ from the assumptions included in these calculations. If gains or losses exceed 10% of the greater of the plan assets or plan liabilities, we amortize such gains or losses into income over either the period of expected future service of active participants, or over the expected average remaining lifetime of all participants. We recognize gains or losses related to plan curtailments at the date the plan amendment or termination is adopted which may precede the effective date. See "Note 9 - Pension and Other Post-retirement Benefits" for additional information on our defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans.
    
Fair Value Measurements

We measure certain of our assets and liabilities based on a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy assigns the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities ("Level 1") and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs ("Level 3"). Level 2 measurements represent inputs that are observable for similar assets or liabilities, either directly or indirectly, other than quoted prices included within Level 1.  See "Note 4 - Fair Value Measurements" for additional information on the fair value measurement of certain of our assets and liabilities.

Noncontrolling Interests

Third parties hold a noncontrolling ownership interest in certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries. Noncontrolling interests are classified as equity on our Consolidated Balance Sheet, and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests is presented separately in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. All income attributable to noncontrolling interest was from continuing operations.

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares of Valaris Limited (the "Common Shares") outstanding during the period. Weighted-average shares outstanding used in our computation of diluted EPS is calculated using the treasury stock method, which includes the effect of all potentially dilutive stock equivalents, including warrants, restricted stock unit awards and performance stock unit awards.

The following table is a reconciliation of the weighted-average shares used in our basic and diluted EPS computations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 (in millions):

Years Ended December 31,
 202420232022
Income attributable to our shares $373.4 $865.4 $176.5 
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic72.1 74.1 75.1 
Effect of stock equivalents0.8 1.1 0.5 
Diluted72.9 75.2 75.6 
Anti-dilutive share awards totaling 160,000, 147,000 and 192,000 were excluded from the computation of diluted EPS for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

We have 5,470,950 warrants outstanding (the "Warrants") as of December 31, 2024 which are exercisable for one Common Share per Warrant at an initial exercise price of $131.88 per Warrant, in each case as may be adjusted from time to time pursuant to the applicable warrant agreement. The Warrants expire on April 29, 2028. The exercise of these Warrants into Common Shares would have a dilutive effect to the holdings of Valaris Limited's existing shareholders. These Warrants are anti-dilutive for all periods presented above.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures - In November 2023, the FASB issued Update 2023-07, which expands reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The amendments in Update 2023-07 require that a public entity disclose, on an annual and interim basis, significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to an entity's chief operating decision maker ("CODM"), a description of other segment items by reportable segment, and any additional measures of a segment's profit or loss used by the CODM when deciding how to allocate resources. Annual disclosures are required for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim disclosures are required for periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Retrospective application is required for all prior periods presented, and early adoption is permitted. We adopted Update 2023-07 effective for this annual report for the year ended December 31, 2024 on a retrospective basis. See "Note 13 - Segment Information" for additional disclosures around our segment information.

Accounting pronouncements to be adopted

Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures - In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses ("Update 2024-03"), which requires companies to disclose additional information for certain relevant expense categories in the Statements of Operations and within the notes to the financial statements. Update 2024-03 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted and can be applied either prospectively to financial statements issued for reporting periods after the effective date, or retrospectively to prior periods which are presented in the financial statements. We are currently assessing the impact of the requirements on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures - In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures ("Update 2023-09"), which expands income tax disclosure requirements to include additional information related to the rate reconciliation of our effective tax rates to statutory rates as well as additional disaggregation of taxes paid. The amendments in Update 2023-09 also remove disclosures related to certain unrecognized tax benefits and deferred taxes. Update 2023-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The amendments are required to be applied on a prospective basis, with an option to apply the guidance retrospectively. While the adoption of Update 2023-09 will result in expansion of our income tax disclosures, we do not expect it to impact the recognition or measurement of income taxes within our consolidated financial statements.
With the exception of the updated standards discussed above, there have been no accounting pronouncements issued and not yet effective that have significance, or potential significance, to our consolidated financial statements.
Reclassifications
Reclassification

Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. In addition, the Total operating revenues and Total contract drilling expenses (exclusive of depreciation) line items presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, were further disaggregated to separately disclose Reimbursable revenues and Reimbursable expenses, respectively, to align with the updated presentation of our segment tables upon the adoption of ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures ("Update 2023-07") effective January 1, 2024 (see "Note 13 - Segment Information"). The disaggregation of these line items is presentational only and was retrospectively applied to the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. There were no impacts to the overall Total operating revenues or Total contract drilling expense (exclusive of depreciation) line items.