TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) on Tuesday reported a loss of $45.6 million in its fiscal third quarter.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said it had a loss of 43 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 34 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 67 cents per share.

The oil and gas well-drilling contractor posted revenue of $317.4 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $303.6 million.

Helmerich & Payne shares have declined 57% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $19.43, a drop of 59% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HP

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News