Cal Dive said the increase in net income is mainly because of increased vessel utilization as a result of raised diving activity in global markets and repair and salvage work as a result of hurricanes Gustav and Ike that struck the Gulf of Mexico in the late summer of 2008.

Quinn Hebert, president and chief executive officer of Cal Dive, stated, “We are off to a good start this year because of excellent performance and execution by our men and women offshore, who took advantage of good weather windows for ongoing salvage and repair projects as well as new construction. We also took advantage of the expected weather disruptions by completing over half of our annual dry dock and vessel maintenance days during the first quarter. Our backlog grew to over $400 million including two international projects in Mexico and China.”

Financial Highlights

— Backlog: Contracted backlog was $402 million as of March 31, 2009 compared to a backlog of $350 million at December 31, 2008 and $450 million as of April 30, 2008.

— Gross Profit: First quarter 2009 gross profit raised by $14.1 million to $38.8 million as compared to the year-ago quarter.

— SG&A: First quarter 2009 SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 8.6% for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 11.9% in the year-ago quarter.

— Net Interest Expense: First quarter 2009 net interest expense reduced by $3.1 million over the year-ago quarter, because of lower variable interest rates related with outstanding borrowings.

— Income Tax Expense: The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2009 was 31.0% compared to 31.5% in the year-ago quarter. The rate decline is mainly because of an increased percentage of income being earned in foreign jurisdictions with lower effective tax rates.

— Balance Sheet: Total debt was $395 million and cash and cash equivalents were $91.5 million for a net debt position of $303.5 million as of March 31, 2009 compared to a net debt position of $254.4 million at December 31, 2008 and $282.2 at March 31, 2008. The raise in net debt is because of the revolving loan borrowings incurred in connection with the January 2009 purchase by Cal Dive of 13.6 million shares of its common stock from its majority stockholder, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.