Diving into negative: Trinidad Drilling
Low rates push Trinidad drilling into red
Trinidad Drilling slid to a loss in the second quarter, as lower utilisation and day rates hit its bottom line, and added it expects the next several quarters "to be challenging".
Trinidad said it expects to see the ongoing pricing pressure and lower industry rig utilisation for the rest of the year with a potential return to more robust conditions in early to mid 2010.
"Demand for energy in North America had decreased dramatically, however, the impact of lower supply levels from vastly reduced drilling activity is expected to be felt in the near future," Reuters quoted Trinidad Drilling as saying in a statement.
The Canadian driller posted a net loss of C$8.6 million (US$7.9 million), or 9 Canadian cents per share, compared with a profit of C$1.1 million, or 1 Canadian cent per share, in the same period last year.
Net earnings were affected by a foreign exchange loss of C$9.5 million and a loss on disposal of assets of C$5.6 million, the company said.
Net loss before stock-based compensation was C$6.9 million, or 7 Canadian cents per share. Revenue fell 11% to C$125.5 million.
Analysts on average had expected a loss of 4 Canadian cents a share, before items, on revenue of C$116.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Drilling utilisation rate in Canada fell 54.8% to 14%, while utilisation rate in the US fell about 30% to 61%.
The company's shares were down 2% at C$4.89 in morning trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
They touched a low of C$4.80 earlier.