HOUSTON (AP) _ Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (HLX) on Monday reported fourth-quarter net income of $8.1 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Houston-based company said it had net income of 5 cents.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 2 cents per share.

The offshore oil and gas services contractor posted revenue of $170.7 million in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $170.2 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $57.9 million, or 38 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $751.9 million.

Helix Energy shares have dropped 22% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $7.52, an increase of 2% 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 HLX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HLX

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News