MIDLAND, Texas, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dawson
Geophysical Company (NASDAQ:DWSN) today reported revenues of
$243,995,000 for the year ending September 30, 2009, compared to
$324,926,000 for the same period ending in fiscal 2008, a decrease
of 25 percent. The Company reported a net income for fiscal 2009 of
$10,222,000 compared to $35,007,000 for fiscal 2008. Basic earnings
per share for fiscal 2009 were $1.31 as compared to $4.57 for
fiscal 2008, a decrease of 71 percent. EBITDA was $43,875,000 in
fiscal 2009 as compared to $81,142,000 during fiscal 2008, a
decrease of 46 percent. The revenue decrease in the year was
primarily the result of previously announced reductions in active
crew count during the second quarter (four crews), and third
quarter (two crews), a more competitive pricing environment,
substantially lower utilization rates of the remaining crews, and
in the fourth quarter, increased downtime for weather. Revenues in
fiscal 2009 continued to include relatively high third-party
charges related to the use of helicopter support services,
specialized survey technologies and dynamite energy sources. The
sustained level of these charges is driven by the Company's
continued operations in areas with limited access in the
Appalachian Basin, East Texas and Louisiana. The Company is
reimbursed for these expenses by its clients. Stephen Jumper,
President and CEO of Dawson Geophysical Company said, "Fiscal 2009
was a difficult year, particularly the second half of fiscal 2009.
We began the year with sixteen active seismic data acquisition
crews after a record fiscal 2008 in terms of crew count, revenues,
EBITDA and earnings. Following the combined financial crisis of
late 2008 and the resulting changes in commodity prices, demand for
our services decreased as our clients reduced their exploration and
production activities. In response to the weakness in demand for
our services, we reduced our active crew count to twelve in the
second quarter of fiscal 2009 and to ten in the third quarter.
While overall demand is no longer falling, our short-term
utilization rates and pricing for our services remain under
pressure. In our continued effort to balance crew count and
availability of ready projects, we recently reduced our active crew
count to nine." Jumper continued, "Despite these challenges, we see
encouraging signs as we enter fiscal 2010. Natural gas and oil
prices have rebounded from their lows. In addition, many
exploration and production companies are beginning to increase
their capital expenditures budgets and exploration initiatives from
the very low levels of fiscal 2009 resulting in an increase in
demand for our services in many oil producing basins. Although our
clients may cancel their service contracts on short notice, our
current order book reflects commitment levels sufficient to
maintain operation of our nine data acquisition crews into calendar
2010." The Company significantly reduced its capital expenditures
during fiscal 2009 to $4,448,000 from $52,861,000 during the
previous fiscal year. The Company's Board of Directors has approved
a $10,000,000 capital budget for fiscal 2010 to be used to purchase
2,000 stations of OYO GSR three-component recording equipment and
to meet necessary maintenance requirements. The addition of the OYO
GSR recording equipment will allow the Company to record 6,000
channels of multi-component data or up to 8,000 channels of
conventional seismic data, either as a stand alone system or as
added channel count and increased flexibility for the Company's
existing ARAM recording systems. Fourth Quarter Results For the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, revenues were $46,835,000 for the
quarter ending September 30, 2009, compared to $84,396,000 for the
same quarter in fiscal 2008, a decrease of 45 percent. The Company
reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 of
$2,056,000 compared to net income of $9,304,000 in the same quarter
of fiscal 2008. Basic losses per share for the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2009 were $0.26 per share compared to basic earnings of
$1.21 per share in the same quarter of fiscal 2008. EBITDA for the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 was $3,654,000 compared to
$21,547,000 in the same quarter of fiscal 2008, a decrease of 83
percent. Jumper concluded, "We continue to believe that
opportunities for long-term seismic growth in the continental
United States remain strong. Natural gas and oil exploration,
especially in the Marcellus, the Haynesville and the Bakken areas,
is driving demand for our services. Recent increases in commodity
prices are putting more exploration dollars to work in the Permian
Basin, South Texas, East Texas, Louisiana, the Appalachian Basin
and North Dakota. As economic conditions improve, demand for
hydrocarbons should increase along with the demand for
cost-effective hydrocarbon exploration. We have been in business
for 57 years. Our conservative fiscal management enables us to
successfully navigate the oil and natural gas environment in both
up and down cycles. Our talented staff, combined with our efficient
operations, positions us well to capture the upside of the business
environment." Dawson Geophysical Company is the leading provider of
U.S. onshore seismic data acquisition services as measured by the
number of active data acquisition crews. Founded in 1952, Dawson
acquires and processes 2D, 3D and multi-component seismic data
solely for its clients, ranging from major oil and gas companies to
independent oil and gas operators, as well as providers of
multi-client data libraries. This press release contains
information about the Company's EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial
measure as defined by Regulation G promulgated by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company defines EBITDA as
net income (loss) plus interest expense, income taxes, depreciation
and amortization expense. The Company uses EBITDA as a supplemental
financial measure to assess: -- the financial performance of its
assets without regard to financing methods, capital structures,
taxes or historical cost basis; -- its liquidity and operating
performance over time in relation to other companies that own
similar assets and that the Company believes calculate EBITDA in a
similar manner; -- and the ability of the Company's assets to
generate cash sufficient for the Company to pay potential interest
costs. The Company also understands that such data are used by
investors to assess the Company's performance. However, the term
EBITDA is not defined under generally accepted accounting
principles, and EBITDA is not a measure of operating income,
operating performance or liquidity presented in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. When assessing the
Company's operating performance or liquidity, investors and others
should not consider this data in isolation or as a substitute for
net income (loss), cash flow from operating activities or other
cash flow data calculated in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. In addition, the Company's EBITDA may not be
comparable to EBITDA or similar titled measures utilized by other
companies since such other companies may not calculate EBITDA in
the same manner as the Company. Further, the results presented by
EBITDA cannot be achieved without incurring the costs that the
measure excludes: interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. A
reconciliation of the Company's EBITDA to its net income (loss) is
presented in the table following the text of this press release. In
accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Dawson Geophysical
Company cautions that statements in this press release which are
forward-looking and which provide other than historical information
involve risks and uncertainties that may materially affect the
Company's actual results of operations. These risks include but are
not limited to, the volatility of oil and natural gas prices,
disruptions in the global economy, dependence upon energy industry
spending, limited number of customers, credit risk related to our
customers, cancellations of service contracts, high fixed costs of
operations, weather interruptions, inability to obtain land access
rights of way, industry competition, managing growth, the
availability of capital resources and operational disruptions. A
discussion of these and other factors, including risks and
uncertainties, is set forth in the Company's Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Dawson Geophysical Company
disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise. DAWSON GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended September 30, September 30,
----------------- ----------------- 2009 2008 2009 2008 ---- ----
---- ---- (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) Operating revenues
$46,835,000 $84,396,000 $243,995,000 $324,926,000 Operating costs:
Operating expenses 41,713,000 61,373,000 192,839,000 237,484,000
General and administrative 1,532,000 1,570,000 7,856,000 6,762,000
Depreciation 6,509,000 6,531,000 26,160,000 24,253,000 ---------
--------- ---------- ---------- 49,754,000 69,474,000 226,855,000
268,499,000 Income (loss) from operations (2,919,000) 14,922,000
17,140,000 56,427,000 Other income (expense): Interest income
36,000 87,000 249,000 497,000 Interest expense - (166,000) -
(482,000) Other income (expense) 28,000 7,000 326,000 (35,000)
------ ----- ------- ------- Income (loss) before income tax
(2,855,000) 14,850,000 17,715,000 56,407,000 Income tax benefit
(expense): Current 1,970,000 (4,203,000) (5,193,000) (17,834,000)
Deferred (1,171,000) (1,343,000) (2,300,000) (3,566,000) ----------
----------- ---------- ----------- Net income (loss) $(2,056,000)
$9,304,000 $10,222,000 $35,007,000 ============ ==========
=========== =========== Net income (loss) per common share $(0.26)
$1.21 $1.31 $4.57 ====== ===== ===== ===== Net income (loss) per
common share-assuming dilution $(0.26) $1.20 $1.30 $4.53 ======
===== ===== ===== Weighted average equivalent common shares
outstanding 7,822,809 7,680,652 7,807,385 7,669,124 =========
========= ========= ========= Weighted average equivalent common
shares outstanding-assuming dilution 7,822,809 7,725,995 7,853,531
7,728,651 ========= ========= ========= ========= DAWSON
GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS September 30, September 30, 2009
2008 ---- ---- (Unaudited) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash
equivalents $36,792,000 $8,311,000 Short-term investments
25,267,000 - Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful
accounts of $533,000 in September 2009 and $55,000 in September
2008 40,106,000 76,221,000 Prepaid expenses and other assets
7,819,000 877,000 Current deferred tax asset 1,694,000 873,000
--------- ------- Total current assets 111,678,000 86,282,000
Property, plant and equipment 240,820,000 250,519,000 Less
accumulated depreciation (115,341,000) (103,180,000) ------------
------------ Net property, plant and equipment 125,479,000
147,339,000 ----------- ----------- Total assets $237,157,000
$233,621,000 ============ ============ LIABILITIES AND
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable
$6,966,000 $15,308,000 Accrued liabilities: Payroll costs and other
taxes 2,720,000 3,363,000 Other 10,600,000 14,869,000 Deferred
revenue 2,230,000 993,000 --------- ------- Total current
liabilities 22,516,000 34,533,000 ---------- ---------- Deferred
tax liability 16,262,000 13,128,000 Stockholders' equity: Preferred
stock-par value $1.00 per share; 5,000,000 shares authorized, none
outstanding - - Common stock-par value $.33 1/3 per share;
50,000,000 shares authorized, 7,822,994 and 7,794,744 shares issued
and outstanding in each period 2,608,000 2,598,000 Additional
paid-in capital 89,220,000 87,051,000 Other comprehensive income,
net of tax 18,000 - Retained earnings 106,533,000 96,311,000
----------- ---------- Total stockholders' equity 198,379,000
185,960,000 ----------- ----------- Total liabilities and
stockholders' equity $237,157,000 $233,621,000 ============
============ Reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Income (Loss) Three
Months Ended Twelve Months Ended ------------------
------------------- September 30, September 30, -------------
------------ 2009 2008 2009 2008 ---- ---- ---- ---- (in thousands)
(in thousands) Net income (loss) $(2,056) $9,304 $10,222 $35,007
Depreciation 6,509 6,531 26,160 24,253 Interest expense - 166 - 482
Income tax (benefit) expense (799) 5,546 7,493 21,400 ---- -----
----- ------ EBITDA $3,654 $21,547 $43,875 $81,142 ====== =======
======= ======= Reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Cash Provided by
Operating Activities Twelve Months Ended -------------------
September 30, ------------- 2009 2008 ---- ---- (in thousands) Net
cash provided by operating activities $54,598 $50,930 Changes in
working capital items and other (7,977) 31,063 Non-cash adjustments
to income (2,746) (851) ------ ---- EBITDA $43,875 $81,142 =======
======= DATASOURCE: Dawson Geophysical Company CONTACT: L. Decker
Dawson, Chairman, or Stephen C. Jumper, CEO and President, or
Christina W. Hagan, Chief Financial Officer, all of Dawson
Geophysical Company, 1-800-332-9766 Web Site:
http://www.dawson3d.com/
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