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Pioneer Drilling Discloses Findings of Internal Investigation and Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results

Posted : Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:30:36 GMT
Author : Pioneer Drilling Company, Inc.
Category : Press Release
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Second quarter results and conference call are scheduled for Thursday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Aug. 5
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pioneer Drilling Company, Inc. (Amex: PDC) today announced that it has filed its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As previously reported, the Company's Board of Directors formed a special subcommittee to investigate certain questions raised with respect to the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. The special subcommittee engaged independent legal counsel and forensic accountants to assist in the investigation.
During the course of the investigation, no information was discovered that evidences a material weakness in the Company's internal control over financial reporting or requires a restatement of the Company's historical financial statements. Upon filing timely the 2008 second quarter Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company expects to meet the extended filing deadline established by the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX") for continued listing of the Company's common stock and regain compliance with Sections 134 and 1101 of the AMEX Company Guide. The Company will notify the AMEX Listing Qualification Department of this development.
The Company has also delivered its financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 to its lenders, together with a compliance certificate, as required under the Company's senior revolving credit facility led by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Fortis Merchant Banking.
Commenting on the results of the investigation, Pioneer's President and CEO, Wm. Stacy Locke said, "We are thankful that this internal investigation is complete and we can now turn our full attention to operating our business and ensuring that Pioneer continues to be a leader in our industry."
First Quarter 2008 Financial Results
Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $11.8 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, compared with net income of $14.8 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2007 ("the prior quarter"), and net income of $17.2 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2007 ("the year-earlier quarter"). The first quarter was impacted by a $0.01 per diluted share favorable tax benefit compared with a $0.04 per diluted share favorable tax benefit.
The first quarter of 2008 included the 31 days' contribution from the new Production Services Division, whose businesses were acquired from the WEDGE Group and Competition Wireline on March 1, 2008, plus the contribution from the our Colombian operations, which commenced in the third quarter of 2007.
Revenues for the first quarter were $113.4 million, compared with $104.6 million for the prior quarter and $103.3 million for the year-earlier quarter. The Drilling Services Division contributed $100.0 million of revenues, and the Production Services Division contributed $13.4 million of revenue for the one-month period in the first quarter of 2008. EBITDA(1) for the first quarter increased $1.1 million from the prior quarter to $36.2 million but declined $4.1 million from the year-earlier quarter. Cash flows from operations for the three months ended March 31 totaled $40.0 million, an increase of $3.4 million versus the prior quarter and $3.5 million compared with the year-earlier quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $1.9 million from the prior quarter and $3.9 million versus the year-earlier quarter, primarily due to additional compensation-related costs associated with the addition of WEDGE personnel, expanding the Company's land drilling operations into Colombia and enhancing the corporate staff to manage the our transition into a multinational, oilfield services company. Interest expense paid on the new senior secured revolving credit facility used to fund the WEDGE acquisition totaled $1.6 million for the first quarter. Other income for the first quarter was favorably impacted by a $1.1 million foreign currency translation gain related to our operations in Colombia.
"The first quarter of 2008 marked significant progress towards Pioneer's long-term strategic transformation from a domestic land driller into a multi-service, international oilfield services company, with the closing of the WEDGE acquisition and our continued expansion into Colombia," said Locke. "The WEDGE acquisition has been accretive to earnings from the outset. While we experienced lower drilling margins and utilization during the first quarter as a result of surplus rig capacity in the U.S. land market, we believe the first quarter marks the bottom of the current industry cycle. And the reduced drilling margins we experienced were partially offset by a strong margin contribution from Production Services. We also continue to be very pleased with the growth in our new Colombian operations and expect it to continue to be a strong contributor to revenues and profitability going forward," Locke said.
Pioneer Conference Call
Pioneer's management team will hold a conference call Thursday, August 7, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (1:00 p.m. Central Time), to discuss these results and the second quarter 2008 results, which will be released that morning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call, dial (303) 205-0066 at least 10 minutes early and ask for the Pioneer Drilling conference call. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the call ends and will be accessible until August 14. To access the replay, dial (303) 590-3000 and enter the pass code 11118059#.
The conference call will also be available on the Internet at Pioneer's Web site at http://www.pioneerdrlg.com. To listen to the live call, visit Pioneer's Web site at least 10 minutes early to register and download any necessary audio software. An archive will be available shortly after the call. For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at DRG&E at (713) 529-6600 or e-mail dmw@drg-e.com.
About Pioneer
Pioneer Drilling Company provides land contract drilling services to independent and major oil and gas operators in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, the Rocky Mountain region and internationally in Colombia though its Pioneer Drilling Services Division. The Company also provides workover rig, wireline and fishing and rental services to producers in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions through its Pioneer Production Services Division. Its fleet consists of 69 land drilling rigs that drill at depths of 6,000 and 18,000 feet, 66 workover rigs (sixty one 550-horsepower rigs, four 600-horsepower rigs and one 400-horsepower rig), 51 wireline units, and fishing and rental tools.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations
Statements we make in this news release that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not historical fact, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, could differ materially from those we express in this news release as a result of a variety of factors, including general economic and business conditions and industry trends, the continued strength or weakness of the contract land drilling industry in the geographic areas in which we operate, decisions about onshore exploration and development projects to be made by oil and gas companies, the highly competitive nature of our business, difficulty in integrating the services of acquired companies, including the production services businesses of WEDGE and Competition, in an efficient and effective manner, the availability, terms and deployment of capital, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in, or our failure or inability to comply with, government regulations, including those relating to the environment, the economic and business conditions of our international operations, challenges in achieving strategic objectives, and the risk that our markets do not evolve as anticipated. We have discussed these factors in more detail in our transition report on Form 10-KT for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. These factors are not necessarily all the important factors that could affect us. Unpredictable or unknown factors we have not discussed in this news release, in our annual report on Form 10-K or in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q could also have material adverse effects on actual results of matters that are the subject of our forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as the date on which they are made and we undertake no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements. We advise our shareholders that they should (1) be aware that important factors not referred to above could affect the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and (2) use caution and common sense when considering our forward-looking statements.
This news release contains non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. A reconciliation of each such measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, together with an explanation of why management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors, is provided below.
(1) We define EBITDA as earnings before interest income (expense), taxes,
depreciation and amortization. Although not prescribed under GAAP, we
believe the presentation of EBITDA is relevant and useful because it
helps our investors understand our operating performance and makes it
easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have
different financing, capital or tax structures. EBITDA should not be
considered in isolation from or as a substitute for net income, as an
indication of operating performance or cash flows from operating
activities or as a measure of liquidity. A reconciliation of net
income to EBITDA can be found later in the release. EBITDA, as we
calculate it, may not be comparable to EBITDA measures reported by
other companies. In addition, EBITDA does not represent funds
available for discretionary use.

 Contacts:  Joyce M. Schuldt, Executive VP & CFO
Pioneer Drilling Company
210-828-7689

Lisa Elliott / lelliott@drg-e.com
Anne Pearson / apearson@drg-e.com
DRG&E / 713-529-6600

   - Financial Statements Follow -



  PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
   Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
 (unaudited)

Three Months Ended
  March 31, December 31,
 2008  2007 2007

Revenues   $113,397  $103,347 $104,589
Costs and Expenses:
  Operating Costs70,42659,189   63,736
  Depreciation   17,11914,736   16,661
  Selling, general and
   administrative 7,722 3,8245,822
  Bad debt expense (recovery)   135 -  (15)
Total operating costs95,40277,749   86,204

Operating income 17,99525,598   18,385

Other income (expense):

  Interest expense   (1,574)-   (1)
  Interest income   585   881  808
  Other   1,092 8   97
Total other 103   889  904

Income before taxes  18,09826,487   19,289

Income tax expense   (6,250)   (9,269)  (4,512)
Net earnings$11,848   $17,218  $14,777

Earnings per share:
  Basic   $0.24 $0.35$0.30
  Diluted $0.24 $0.34$0.29

Weighted average
 number of shares outstanding:
  Basic  49,75949,619   49,651
  Diluted50,29150,127   50,188



  PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)

March 31, December 31,
  20082007
   Assets  (unaudited) (audited)
Current assets:
   Cash and cash equivalents $15,618 $76,703
   Receivables, net   68,491  47,370
   Contract drilling in progress  16,603   7,861
   Deferred income taxes   5,334   3,670
   Inventory   2,813   1,180
   Prepaid expenses and other  6,022   5,073
  Total current assets   114,881 141,857

Net property and equipment   570,312 417,022
Deferred income taxes708 573
Goodwill 172,228   -
Other long-term assets43,140 760
Total assets$901,269$560,212

  Liabilities and Equity
Current liabilities:
   Current maturities of long-term debt  $23,457  $-
   Accounts payable   24,888  21,424
   Income taxes payable4,371   -
   Prepaid drilling contracts  3,082   1,933
   Accrued expenses   32,140  18,693
  Total current liabilities   87,938  42,050
Long-term debt   271,563   -
Other non-current liabilities  5,087 254
Deferred taxes51,430  46,836
  Total liabilities  416,018  89,140
Total shareholders' equity   485,251 471,072
Total liabilities and
 shareholders' equity   $901,269$560,212



PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  (in thousands)
   (unaudited)

Three Months Ended
   March 31,  December 31,
20082007   2007

Cash flows from operating activities:
  Net earnings$11,848 $17,218$14,777
  Adjustments to reconcile net
   earnings to net cash
   provided by operating activities:
 Depreciation and amortization 17,119  14,736 16,661
 Allowance for doubtful accounts  135   -(15)
 Loss (gain) on dispositions of
  property and equipment  (23)576884
 Stock-based compensation expense 951 587  1,031
 Deferred income taxes554   6,179  1,672
 Change in other assets74   5   (519)
 Change in non-current liabilities(88)(85)  (103)
 Changes in current assets and
  liabilities   9,415  (2,761) 2,239
Net cash provided by operating
 activities39,985  36,455 36,627

Cash flows from investing activities:
 Acquisition of WEDGE, net of cash
  acquired   (313,610)  -  -
 Acquisition of Competition
  Wireline, net of cash acquired  (26,101)  -  -
 Purchases of property and
  equipment   (32,938)(27,870)   (27,033)
 Purchase of auction rate
  securities, net (16,475)  -  -
 Proceeds from sale of property and
  equipment   933   1,477806
Net cash used in investing activities(388,191)(26,393)   (26,227)

Cash flows from financing activities:
 Payments of debt (22,001)  -  -
 Proceeds from issuance of debt   311,500   -  -
 Debt issuance costs   (3,281)  -  -
 Proceeds from sale of common stock   653 110  -
 Excess tax benefit of stock option
  exercises   250  19  -
Net cash provided by financing
 activities   287,121 129  -

Net increase (decrease) in cash and
 cash equivalents (61,085) 10,191 10,400

Beginning cash and cash equivalents76,703  74,754 66,303
Ending cash and cash equivalents  $15,618 $84,945$76,703



  PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
 Operating Statistics
(in thousands)
 (unaudited)

  Three Months Ended
   March 31,   March 31,  December 31,
  200820072007

Drilling Services Division:
Revenues$100,041$103,347$104,589
Operating costs   63,497  59,189  63,736
   Drilling services margin (1)  $36,544 $44,158 $40,853

Average number of drilling rigs 67.064.367.0
Utilization rate 84% 90% 86%
Revenue days   5,186   5,203   5,343

Average revenues per day $19,291 $19,863 $19,575
Average operating costs per day   12,244  11,376  11,929

   Drilling services margin per
day (2)   $7,047  $8,487  $7,646

Production Services Division:
Revenues $13,356  $-  $-
Operating costs6,929   -   -
   Production services margin (1) $6,427  $-  $-

EBITDA (3)   $36,206 $40,342 $35,143

Reconciliation of combined Drilling
 services margin and Production
 services margin and EBITDA to net
 earnings:

  Drilling services margin   $36,544 $44,158 $40,853
  Production services margin   6,427   -   -
  Combined margin 42,971  44,158  40,853

General and administrative(7,722) (3,824) (5,822)
Bad debt expense(135)  -  15
Other income (expense) recovery1,092   8  97

  EBITDA  36,206  40,342  35,143

Depreciation (17,119)(14,736)(16,661)
Interest income (expense), net  (989)881 807
Income tax expense(6,250) (9,269) (4,512)

  Net earnings   $11,848 $17,218 $14,777


(1) Drilling services margin represents contract drilling revenues less
contract drilling operating costs. Production services margin
represents production services revenue less production services
operating costs. Pioneer believes that Drilling services margin and
Production services margin are useful measures for evaluating
financial performance, although they are not measures of financial
performance under generally accepted accounting principles. However,
Drilling services margin and Production services margin are common
measures of operating performance used by investors, financial
analysts, rating agencies and Pioneer's management. A reconciliation
of Drilling services margin and Production services margin to net
earnings is included in the operating statistics table. Drilling
services margin and production services margin as presented may not be
comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other
companies.
(2) Drilling services margin per revenue day represents the Drilling
Services Division's average revenue per revenue day less average
operating costs per revenue day.
(3) We define EBITDA as earnings before interest income (expense), taxes,
depreciation and amortization. Although not prescribed under GAAP, we
believe the presentation of EBITDA is relevant and useful because it
helps our investors understand our operating performance and makes it
easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have
different financing, capital or tax structures. EBITDA should not be
considered in isolation from or as a substitute for net income, as an
indication of operating performance or cash flows from operating
activities or as a measure of liquidity. A reconciliation of net
income to EBITDA can be found later in the release. EBITDA, as we
calculate it, may not be comparable to EBITDA measures reported by
other companies. In addition, EBITDA does not represent funds
available for discretionary use.



  PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
 Capital Expenditures
(in thousands)

Budget
  Fiscal Year
  Three Months EndedEnding
 March 31, March 31, December 31, December 31,
2008 20072007 2008
Capital expenditures:

  Drilling Services Division:
Routine rigs   $4,007   $4,724  $5,570   $21,200
Discretionary  19,014   12,227  14,35047,600
Tubulars1,0473,589   2,74012,600
New-builds and
 acquisitions 7469,487   3,01220,000

  Total Drilling Services
   Division capital
   expenditures24,814   30,027  25,672   101,400

   Average routine rig capital
expenditures per revenue
day (1)  $773 $908  $1,077  $998

  Production Services Division:
Routine   108-   - 2,030
New-builds and acquisitions 3,031-   -39,800

  Total Production Services
   Division capital
   expenditures 3,139-   -41,830

  Total capital
   expenditures   $27,953  $30,027 $25,672  $143,230

(1) Average routine rig capital expenditures per revenue day represents
the Drilling Services Division's routine rig capital expenditures
divided by the number of revenue days for each period presented.



  PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
   Drilling Rig, Workover Rig and Wireline Unit Information

 Rig Type
  Mechanical   Electric   Total Rigs
Drilling Services Division:

Drilling rig horsepower ratings:
550 to 700 HP  6   -   6
750 to 900 HP 15   2  17
1000 HP   17  12  29
1200 to 1500 HP3  14  17
Total 41  28  69

Drilling depth ratings:
Less than 10,000 feet  8   2  10
10,000 to 13,900 feet 30   7  37
14,000 to 18,000 feet  3  19  22
Total 41  28  69


Production Services Division:

Workover rig horsepower ratings:
400 HP 1
550 HP61
600 HP 4
Total 66

Wireline units51

Fishing & Rental Tools Inventory  $14 Million
SOURCE Pioneer Drilling Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.




Article : Pioneer Drilling Discloses Findings of Internal Investigation and Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results
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