TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) on Wednesday reported a loss of $55.6 million in its fiscal third quarter.

On a per-share basis, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said it had a loss of 52 cents. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 57 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for a loss of 57 cents per share.

The oil and gas well-drilling contractor posted revenue of $332.2 million in the period, which topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $322.8 million.

Helmerich & Payne shares have increased 30% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 17%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $30, a climb of 54% 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

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