President and Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Eifler commented: "We are pleased to initiate a regular quarterly dividend to complement our ongoing share repurchase activities. Noble's strategic priorities over the past two years have been centrally focused on consolidation and establishing an industry leading free cash flow generation and return of cash platform.  Following year-to-date share repurchases of approximately $70 million, this initial quarterly dividend represents the next logical step in our strategy for maximizing shareholder value. Going forward, we will remain committed to returning the significant majority of free cash flow to shareholders over time via dividends and share repurchases, with an intention to scale both of these instruments higher as cash flow generation continues to grow."

Future quarterly dividends and other shareholder returns will be subject to, amongst other things, approval by the board of directors, and may be modified as market conditions dictate.

Dividends payable to Noble shareholders will generally be paid in U.S. dollars (USD). However, holders of shares in the form of share entitlements admitted to trading on NASDAQ Copenhagen will receive an equivalent dividend payment in Danish krone (DKK) as determined by the exchange rate on a specified date.  The holders of such share entitlements bear the risk of fluctuations in USD and DKK exchange rates.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute or contain any invitation, solicitation, recommendation, offer or advice to any person to subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of Noble.

Certain statements in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements (other than statements of historical fact) relating to future events and Noble and its subsidiaries' (collectively, the "Noble Group") anticipated or planned financial and operational performance. The words "targets", "believes", "committed to," "continues", "expects", "aims", "intends", "plans", "seeks", "will", "may", "might", "anticipates", "would", "could", "should", "estimates", "projects", "potentially" or similar expressions or the negatives thereof, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. Other forward-looking statements can be identified in the context in which the statements are made. All statements regarding the shareholder return of capital framework, free cash flow, future dividends and share repurchases, execution of the Company's operating plans, and market conditions are forward-looking statements.

Although Noble believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date of this announcement, such forward-looking statements are based on Noble's current expectations, estimates, forecasts, assumptions and projections about the Noble Group's business and the industry in which the Noble Group operates and/or which has been extracted from publications, reports and other documents prepared by the Noble Group and are not guarantees of future performance or development and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Noble Group's control that could cause the Noble Group's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and could impact our ability to repurchase shares and declare and pay dividends such that we suspend our share repurchase program and reduce, suspend, or totally eliminate dividend payments in the future. These factors include those "Risk Factors" referenced or described in Noble's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q's, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including any attachment hereto, speak only as of the date of this release. Noble does not intend, and does not assume, any obligations to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as may be required by law or the rules of the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Copenhagen. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Noble or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referred to above and contained in this announcement.

View PDF version (https://mb.cision.com/Public/21786/3803683/a60722b82e237779.pdf)