Dawson Geophysical Turns To Loss For Q4

(RTTNews) - Dawson Geophysical Company (DWSN), a provider of onshore seismic data acquisition and processing services, Wednesday reported a loss for the fourth quarter, over profit in the same period last year.

Dawson said that it experienced lower utilization rates during the fourth quarter as project readiness issues arose on account of agricultural operations in key regions, weather delays, land access permit issues and a softness in bid activity in the previous quarter.

The company posted fourth quarter quarter loss of $2.79 million, or $0.35 per share, compared with a profit of $1.15 million, or $0.14 per share, a year ago. The company said the latest quarterly results included increases in depreciation expenses from last year.

For the three months to September, EBITDA fell to $6.63 million from $10.63 million a year ago.

The Texas-based company posted sales of $69.67 million for the fourth quarter, up from $72.99 million a year ago.

"We believe that the decrease in 2013 revenue is not a reflection of decreasing geophysical demand, but rather, a product of both lower third-party charges as a percentage of revenue and the reduction in utilization experienced during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year," said the company. Full-year revenues fell to $305.29 million from $319.27 million a year ago.

EBITDA for the year ended 2013 increased to $57.26 million from $49.61 million a year earlier.

Earnings for the year ended September 30, 2013 declined to $10.48 million, or $1.31 per share, from $11.11 million, or $1.40 per share, a year ago. The company stated that the results for fiscal 2012 included a $0.18 per share one-time tax benefit related to a terminated merger agreement.

Capital expenditures for fiscal 2013 increased to $50.07 million from $47.66 million a year ago.

Tuesday, the stock closed at $29.84 on the Nasdaq.