Trinidad Drilling Ltd. is reporting a 50 per cent higher net loss for the fourth quarter of 2017 than the year-earlier period despite a 48 per cent increase in revenue due mainly to more demand for its rigs in the United States.
The Calgary-based company says it had a net loss of $17.7 million or six cents per share, linked to higher depreciation and amortization expenses and a lower contribution from its joint venture operations, on revenue of $138 million in the last three months of 2017.
It posted a net loss of $11.8 million or five cents per share on revenue of $93 million in the same period of 2016.
CEO Brent Conway says dayrates in the U.S. improved each quarter during 2017 with revenue from new contracts more than offsetting the end of legacy contracts, but market conditions are improving at a much slower pace in Canada.
Last week, Trinidad launched a formal strategic review to consider options to enhance shareholder value which could include a corporate sale or merger.
The company is in the process of moving rigs from Canada and the Middle East to the United States. Following its redeployments, it says it will have 69 rigs in the U.S., 68 in Canada, six in Mexico and two in the Middle East.