Business
/R E P E A T -- AKITA Drilling Ltd. Announces Third Quarter Results/
/R E P E A T -- AKITA Drilling Ltd. Announces Third Quarter Results/
About this update from Akita Drilling Ltd. Class A
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nOct. 30, 2009 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- CALGARY, Oct. 29 /CNW/ -- AKITA Drilling Ltd.'s net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 were $5,215,000 ($0.29 per share) on revenue of $80,448,000. Comparative figures for 2008 were earnings of $12,826,000 ($0.70 per share) on revenue of $101,407,000. Funds flow from continuing operations for the period was $17,970,000 compared to $25,332,000 in 2008.Earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2009 were $752,000 ($0.04 per share) on revenue of $20,871,000 compared to $3,681,000 ($0.20 per share) on revenue of $33,747,000 for the corresponding period in 2008. Funds flow from continuing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 was $3,169,000 compared to $7,723,000 in the corresponding quarter in 2008.Drilling activity remains at an all time low both for a third quarter and on a year-to-date basis since the inception of the Company. Operating statistics for the first nine months of 2009 and 2008 are as follows:Operating OperatingNumber of Days DaysDrilling Rigs (Third (Year-to-Gross Net Quarter) Date)-------------------------------------------------------------------------Canadian Operations 2009 39 36.225 808 2,8752008 37 34.725 1,689 4,666-------------------------------------------------------------------------U.S. Operations 2009 2 1.0 185 3952008 3 1.5 62 122-------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 2009 41 37.225 993 3,2702008 40 36.225 1,751 4,788--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The reduction in drilling activity has had a significant impact on the financial performance of the Company. Additionally, the Company's financial results have been adversely affected by foreign exchange losses and a significant reduction in interest income due to low interest rates. Offsetting these factors, the Company recorded a one-time reduction of $1,458,000 against its pension liability account during the third quarter of 2009 following the receipt of an updated actuarial report.The modest pace of improvement from the second quarter to the third quarter is expected to continue in the short-term. The price of natural gas improved compared to earlier in the year, although not to levels expected to stimulate a signif...