TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) on Thursday reported a fiscal second-quarter loss of $420.5 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said it had a loss of $3.88 per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, came to 1 cent per share.

The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 7 cents per share.

The oil and gas well-drilling contractor posted revenue of $633.6 million in the period, which topped Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $593.5 million.

Helmerich & Payne shares have declined 56% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined nearly 10%. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $19.92, a fall of 66% 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