EARNINGS - Spec 2 Listed / Trican Well Service Ltd. 1st Qtr Results
TRICAN - FIRST QUARTER 1998
CALGARY, May 19 /CNW/ -
Financial Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ($ millions, except per share amounts) Three months ended March 31, 1998 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Operations revenue $ 14.0 $4.2 Earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation & amortization (EBITDA) 3.4 0.7 Net income 1.7 0.4 Net income per share (basic) 0.16 0.05 (fully diluted) 0.15 0.05 Cash flow from operations 2.6 0.7 Cash flow from operations per share (basic) 0.25 0.08 (fully diluted) 0.22 0.08 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trican Well Service Ltd. (''the Company'') is pleased to release its 1998 first quarter results which show continued strong growth and development.
Financial Review Trican recorded revenue of $14.0 million, which represents an increase of $9.9 million or 237 percent compared with the same quarter last year. Net income for the period increased 347 percent to $1.7 million from $0.4 million in the 1997 first quarter. Per share earnings were $0.16 (fully diluted $0.15) as compared to $0.05 (fully diluted $0.05) for the 1997 first quarter. These increases are the result of high levels of industry activity, the continued benefit of expanded equipment capacity, greater geographical access and expanded service lines. Operating margins have increased this quarter as a result of Trican's emphasis on the more technical, higher margin services of coiled tubing, acid stimulation, hydraulic fracturing and nitrogen pumping. Funds from operations of $2.6 million for the quarter were 286 percent higher than the prior year (1997 - $0.7 million) and reflect the stronger earnings in the period. During the quarter, the Company finalized a new loan facility to finance the equipment expansion which was ongoing at the end of 1997.
Operational Review The equipment expansion undertaken during 1997 is reflected in the 1998 first quarter results. Trican completed 140 percent more jobs in the 1998 first quarter as compared to the number of jobs completed in the 1997 first quarter. The Company's strategy of diversifying the services offered to its customers initiated in 1997 has also influenced the first quarter results. Revenue per job rose 40 percent reflecting the Company's strategy of evolving from being principally a cementing company to offering a full range of services including coiled tubing, acid stimulation, nitrogen pumping and hydraulic fracturing. In March 1998, the Company completed a private placement of 2,000,000 special warrants for $4.50 each raising $9.0 million. The proceeds from the offering, combined with funds from operations, will be used to add additional fracturing, nitrogen, acid, cementing and coiled tubing equipment. The additional fracturing equipment will double the Company's current equipment capacity within this service line. The additional nitrogen, acid and coiled tubing equipment will increase capacity in each of these service lines by 50 percent (nitrogen pumping), 100 percent (acid stimulation) and 25 percent (coiled tubing) respectively. All of this equipment is expected to be operational by the end of the year. Trican is a well service company focused on serving the oil and gas industry in western Canada. Trican provides a comprehensive array of specialized products, equipment, services and technology for use in the drilling, completion, stimulation and reworking of oil and gas wells. Through its bases in Red Deer, Lloydminster, Provost, Kindersley and Brooks, Trican provides fracturing, coiled tubing, stimulation, cementing and related services to the oil and gas industry. |