Business
Major Drilling Sees Recovery in Fourth Quarter
Major Drilling Sees Recovery in Fourth Quarter
About this update from Major Drilling Group International Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n Jun. 8, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group) -- Major Drilling Group International Inc. (TSX: MDI) today reported results for its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010, ended April 30, 2010.\n\nFinancial Highlights\n\n\n >\n\n\n"We continue to see a sequential recovery by region. Six months ago, we saw activity increase primarily in Chile and Argentina. In this past quarter, Canada posted a strong recovery with a revenue increase of more than 125 percent over the same period last year. Overall, revenue increased by 47 percent. Currently, we are seeing a much more general resumption of activities around the world and if customers move forward with their stated plans, we expect year-over-year growth to continue at a similar pace for the upcoming year. The quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue came from improved rig utilization as pricing remains very competitive. This growth is despite the unfavorable year-over-year foreign exchange translation, which reduced our revenue in Canadian dollars by more than $10 million," said Francis McGuire, President and CEO of Major Drilling. "During the quarter, the Company had net earnings of $3.2 million or $0.14 per share."\n"At this point, the bulk of the increased activity is coming from intermediate mining companies and junior mining companies with advanced properties. While senior companies have increased their exploration budgets for calendar 2010, spending has not yet rebounded to their pre-financial crisis levels. Early stage exploration companies have shown little increase in activity as they are still experiencing difficulties in getting financing," said Mr. McGuire.\n"Margins in this quarter were affected by training, mobilization and setup costs in both the mineral and energy sectors but should improve as the year goes by. Also, in Australia, we are working our way out of some low-margin contracts while heavy rain and client delays continued to have a very negative impact on our Australian energy operations with 180 drill days lost during the quarter."\n"Although this has been a very difficult year, we ended the year with break-even profitability while maintaining our core capabilities and financial strength, which positions us well for the anticipated upcoming increase in activity."\n"Looking ahead to fiscal 2011, we have a pos...