Precision Drilling reports fourth-quarter loss, revenue up 46% from year ago

Blake Bernert ,left, learns from instructor instructor Clint Dyck during a training session to lay down drill pipe on a rig floor at Precision Drilling in Nisku, Alta., on Friday, January 20, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)

CALGARY -

Precision Drilling Corp. says it lost $27.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with a loss of $37.5 million a year earlier as its revenue rose 46 per cent.

The company says the loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $2.05 per diluted share compared with a loss of $2.74 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Revenue totalled $295.2 million, up from $201.7 million a year earlier.

The company says the increase in revenue for the quarter was a result of increased drilling and service rig activity, partially offset by lower average revenue rates in the U.S. and internationally.

Precisions says drilling rig utilization days rose 74 per cent in the U.S. and 87 per cent in Canada.

Service rig operating hours were up 21 per cent compared with a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2022.