Forage Orbit Garant Inc

TSX:OGD

Earnings Call Transcript 2019-Q2

[Operator]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Orbit Garant Drilling Q2, 2019 Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. This call is being recorded on Thursday, February 14, 2019. I would now like to turn the conference over to Eric Alexandre. Please go ahead.

[Eric Alexandre, President, CEO & Director]

Thank you, Whitney and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. With me on the call today is Alain Laplante; CFO. Please be aware that certain information discussed today may be forward-looking and that actual results could differ materially. We will also be discussing certain non-IFRS measures. Please refer to our SEDAR filing for additional information on both our risk factors and non-IFRS measures. This call is being recorded and a replay would be available shortly. Instruction for accessing the replay can be found in our news release. Following my opening remarks, Alain will review our financial results and I will conclude with comments on our outlook and growth strategy. We will then welcome questions.Similar to our first quarter of fiscal 2019, we experienced a year-over-year decline in revenue in meter drilled during Q2 reflecting lower drilling activity in both Canada and Chile. Our drill utilization rates for the quarter were 54% down from 66% in Q2, last year which was a record quarter in terms of both revenue and meter drills for Orbit Garant. Part of our decline in meter drilled in the quarter was due to the conclusion of a large drilling contract in Chile.We believe this slowdown in demand particularly in Canada is related to the lower levels of financing activities in the mining sector that started in the second half of calendar 2018 during our fiscal 2019 first quarter. This past quarters did represent our second highest revenue total for the three-month period ended December 31, a period that is typically a little slower, due to the winter freeze up, which impact our Northern operation and of course, the holiday season.With our expanded international operation, our margins and profitability are more impacted by a slowdown in drilling activity. Our profitability for the quarter was also impacted by cost related to our acquisition of the drilling business of Projet Production International, PPI in Burkina Faso during the quarter. We are pleased with the early results of the Burkina Faso acquisition with drill deployment up from seven at the time of acquisition to 12 at quarter end. Looking ahead, it's difficult to speculate on the short-term outlook for demand in the mineral drilling industry but we expect that the slowdown in demand is temporary. The gold and base metal reserves of mining companies are continuing to be depleted and the industry must eventually increase mineral exploration and development spending to remain viable. We're finding that customers are moving slowly and finalizing their drilling budget this year but we're closely monitoring this and remain well prepared to move quickly on new opportunities. We are encouraged by the increase in gold price year-to-date in 2019. And now, I'd like to turn the call over Alain to review our financial results in more detail. Alain?

[Alain Laplante, VP, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Thank you, Eric and good morning, everyone. Revenue totaled $33.7 million in the quarter compared to $43 million in Q2 a year ago. Drilling Canada revenue was $23.6 million compared to $28.3 million in Q2 last year, reflecting a decline in meters drilled, partially offset by an increase in average revenue per meter.Drilling International revenue was $10.1 million down from $14.7 million in Q2 a year ago. The decline was primarily attributable to the conclusion of a large drilling contract in Chile partially offset by increased drilling activity in Burkina Faso. Gross profit for the quarter was $2.9 million compared to $5.1 million in Q2 last year. Adjusted gross margin excluding depreciation expenses was 15.2% in the quarter down slightly from 16.3%. The decline in gross profit and margins was primarily attributable to lower drilling volumes in Canada partially offset by increased gross profit and margins on international contracts.G&A expenses were $0.5 million higher than Q2 a year ago. The increase resulted from $0.7 million in expenses related to our acquisition in Burkina Faso in the quarter. EBITDA totaled $0.9 million down from $3.3 million in Q2 last year. We recorded a net loss of $1.7 million or $0.04 per share in the quarter, compared to net earnings of $0.8 million or $0.02 per share in Q2 last year.Our net loss was attributable to lower gross profit and margins and costs related to our Burkina Faso acquisition. We drew down a net amount of $7.1 million during Q2 in our credit facility compared to $1.4 million in Q2 last year. Variance was largely due to the financing impact of the PPI acquisition. As of December 31, 2018, we had $27.1 million drawn under the credit facility compared to $18.1 million as at June 30, 2018.Our working capital position was $57.1 million at quarter end up from $53.3 million at fiscal 2018 year end. We continue to maintain a solid balance sheet, providing us the flexibility to pursue growth opportunities. I'll now turn it back to Eric for closing comments. Eric?

[Eric Alexandre, President, CEO & Director]

Thanks, Alain. We believe the outlook for our business is positive despite short-term volatility. Demand for metal remains constant. Major new mineral discoveries any -- are increasingly rare and reserves are declining. This is particularly true in the gold industry, where we generate the majority of our revenue. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, corporate exploration strategies familiarly report from October this year. Global non-ferrous exploration budgets were up nearly 20% in 2018 compared to 2017. S&P expect exploration budget to increase again in 2019, but by a more modest amount. With our expanded international presence and our strong position in Canada, we're increasingly well positioned to capitalize on market opportunities as they arise. That concludes our formal remarks. Alain and I will now be pleased to answer any question. Whitney, please begin the question period.

[Operator]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. One moment please for your first question [Operator Instructions[. There are no questions at this time, please proceed.

[Eric Alexandre, President, CEO & Director]

Okay, so if there are no question, we will now end the call. Thank you everyone for participating. See you next quarter.

[Alain Laplante, VP, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Thank you, everyone. Have a nice day.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating, and ask that you please disconnect your lines.