Oilfield services provider RPC, Inc. (RES) said Wednesday that it swung to a second quarter loss, as revenue dropped 41% mainly due to dramatically lower pricing for its services coupled with modestly lower utilization of its equipment and personnel. The company also announced a 43% cut in its quarterly cash dividend.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based company reported a net loss for the second quarter of $11.6 million or $0.12 per share, compared to net income of $22.5 million or $0.23 per share for the year-ago quarter.
On average, 4 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.07 per share for the second quarter.
Revenue for the second quarter fell 41% to $127.02 million from $214.69 million in the same quarter last year. Two analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $112.69 million for the second quarter.
The company's technical services revenues for the quarter dropped 40.6% year-over-year to $110.0 million, hurt by competitive pricing and lower equipment utilization, while its support services revenues slipped 42.1% to $17.0 million due to decreased activity in the rental tool service line.
"The steep decline in domestic drilling activity, which began in the third quarter of 2008, continued during the second quarter of 2009," said Richard Hubbell, RPC's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The average domestic rig count during the second quarter was 934, a 49.9 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2008."
For the first six months of the year, the company reported a net loss of $7.2 million or $0.07 per share, compared to net income of $37.2 million or $0.38 per share for the same period last year.
Revenues for the first-half fell 26.4% to $303.29 million from $411.92 million in the prior year period.
Separately, RPC said Wednesday that it has reduced its quarterly cash dividend from $0.07 per share to $0.04 per share. The dividend will be payable September 10 to common stockholders of record on August 10.
The company said the dividend cut, along with reduced headcount, employment costs and discretionary expenses, boosts and strengthens its capital structure providing opportunity to pay down debt and continue to maintain a solid, conservative balance sheet.
RPC shares are currently trading at $8.34, down 19 cents or 2.23%.
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