Union Drilling Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Drilling, Inc. (NASDAQ: UDRL) announced today financial and operating results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2011.

Revenues for the third quarter of 2011 were $66.7 million compared to $52.0 million in the third quarter of 2010.  The Company reported net income of $0.6 million for the quarter, or $0.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $4.4 million, or $0.19 per share, during the prior year period.  Union Drilling's 2011 third quarter results included a non-cash $0.8 million, or $0.02 per share, impairment charge related to six of the thirty-one rigs scheduled to be divested.

EBITDA for the third quarter of 2011 totaled $14.7 million compared to $6.2 million reported in the same period last year.  For additional information regarding EBITDA as a non-GAAP financial measure, please refer to the disclosures contained at the end of this release.

Christopher D. Strong, Union Drilling's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Third quarter results reflect the significant gains we've made over the past year.  Utilization and pricing continued to rise while average operating costs were kept to a more reasonable level compared to the first half of 2011.  Appalachia was an area of particular strength during the quarter due to accelerating activity in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, as well as to favorable seasonal conditions.

"The decision to divest a portion of our smaller rig fleet is consistent with our stated strategy of investing in equipment and our people to serve customers who are actively engaged in exploring for and developing unconventional oil and gas resources. These customers are generally larger, have multi-year planning horizons and view the safety of our crews as an essential component of overall rig performance. I'm pleased to say the sale of these smaller, older rigs combined with some incremental capital expenditures on a few of the remaining rigs will eliminate the use of spinning chains to make pipe connections on UDI rigs by early next year. On a pro forma basis, the removal of these assets from our fleet would not have had a material impact on our earnings in 2011, nor do I believe they would have had a material impact on 2012 earnings.

"The first of our four new rigs under construction is now expected to be delivered in mid-November, with the remaining three due in the first quarter of 2012.  All four rigs are backed by term contracts, which are in addition to the 26 rigs we have operating under term contracts today."

Operating Statistics

Union Drilling's average marketed rig utilization for the third quarter of 2011 was 59.4%, up from 53.1% in the third quarter of 2010 ("year-over-year"), and 54.4% in the second quarter of 2011 ("sequential").  Revenue days totaled 3,868, up 11% year-over-year and up 10% sequentially.  Average revenue per revenue day was $17,255, up 15% year-over-year and 1% sequentially.  Operating expenses per revenue day for the third quarter of 2011 were $11,754 per revenue day, up 2% year-over-year, but down 6% sequentially.

Drilling margins totaled $21.3 million, or 32% of revenues, compared year-over-year to 23% of revenues, and compared sequentially to 27% of revenues.  Average drilling margin per revenue day totaled $5,501 for the third quarter of 2011, up 58% year-over-year, and 21% sequentially.  For additional information regarding drilling margin as a non-GAAP financial measure, please refer to the disclosures contained at the end of this release.

2011 Year-To-Date Results

For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, Union Drilling reported a net loss of $7.4 million, or $0.32 per share, on revenues of $182.7 million, compared to a net loss of $15.8 million, or $0.68 per share, on revenues of $134.4 million for the same period in 2010.  Year-to-date 2011 EBITDA more than doubled to $30.3 million compared to $13.6 million for the same period in 2010.

Drilling margin for the first nine months of 2011 totaled $50.7 million, or 28% of revenues, compared to $30.9 million, or 23% of revenues, for the same period last year.  The Company totaled 10,847 revenue days on 56.0% utilization in the first nine months of 2011 versus 8,911 revenue days on 46.0% utilization in the same period last year.  Year-to-date revenue and drilling margin averaged $16,840 and $4,675, respectively, per revenue day in 2011 compared to $15,079 and $3,472 during the same period in 2010.

Rig Divestiture

To better align with the Company's strategy of providing premium, modern rigs and experienced, knowledgeable crews to the major and large independent E&P companies primarily focused on deep horizontal shale drilling, Union Drilling will divest 31 rigs and related equipment through an auction hosted by Kruse Energy & Equipment, LLC on December 7-8, 2011 in Pittsburgh.  Of the 31 rigs to be auctioned, 19 were included in the Company's marketed rig fleet of 71 rigs as of June 30, 2011, while the remaining 12 had been previously decommissioned.  The rigs to be divested accounted for $7.9 million, or 6% of revenue in the first nine months of 2010, and $2.5 million, or 1% of revenue in the first nine months of 2011.  After decommissioning the rigs that are held for sale, Union Drilling had 51 marketed rigs as of September 30, 2011, including 25 large (1,000+ hp), 16 medium (750-999 hp) and 10 small rigs.  Third quarter 2011 utilization for those 51 rigs was 82%.  Four additional large rigs are expected to be delivered by March 31, 2012.

Conference Call

Union Drilling's management team will hold a conference call today, October 31, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.  To participate in the call, dial (480) 629-9692 ten minutes before the conference call begins and ask for the Union Drilling conference call.  To listen to the live call on the Internet, please visit Union Drilling's website fifteen minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software.  For those who cannot listen to the live call, a telephonic replay will be available through November 7, 2011 and may be accessed by calling (303) 590-3030 and using the pass code 4474892#.  Also, an archive of the webcast will be available after the call for a period of 60 days on the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.uniondrilling.com.

About Union Drilling

Union Drilling, Inc., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, provides contract land drilling services and equipment to oil and natural gas producers in the United States.  Union Drilling currently markets 51 rigs and specializes in unconventional drilling techniques.

UDRL-E

Statements we make in this press release that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those which are not historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "should" or similar words.  These matters include statements concerning management's plans and objectives relating to our operations or economic performance and related assumptions, including general economic and business conditions and industry trends, the continued strength or weakness of the contract land drilling industry in the geographic areas in which we operate, decisions about onshore exploration and development projects to be made by oil and gas companies, the highly competitive nature of our business, our future financial performance, including availability, terms and deployment of capital, the continued availability of qualified personnel, and changes in, or our failure or inability to comply with, government regulations, including those relating to workplace safety and the environment.  Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Further, we specifically disclaim any duty to update any of the information set forth in this press release, including any forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are made based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future events and, therefore, involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors described in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Management cautions that forward-looking statements are not guarantees, and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

EBITDA is earnings before net interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and non-cash impairment.  The Company believes EBITDA is a useful measure of evaluating its financial performance because it is used by external users, such as investors, commercial banks, research analysts and others, to assess:   (1) the financial performance of Union Drilling's assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis,  (2) the ability of Union Drilling's assets to generate cash sufficient to pay interest costs and support its indebtedness, and (3) Union Drilling's operating performance and return on capital as compared to those of other entities in our industry, without regard to financing or capital structure.  EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles.  However, EBITDA is a common alternative measure of operating performance used by investors, financial analysts and rating agencies.  A reconciliation of EBITDA to net earnings is included below.  EBITDA as presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Drilling margin represents contract drilling revenues less contract drilling costs.  Union Drilling believes that drilling margin is a useful measure for evaluating its financial performance, although it is not a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles.  However, drilling margin is a common measure of operating performance used by investors, financial analysts, rating agencies and Union Drilling's management.  A reconciliation of drilling margin to operating income is included below.  Drilling margin as presented may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

SOURCE Union Drilling, Inc.