Mr. Dwayne LaMontagne reports
SAVANNA ENERGY SERVICES CORP. ANNOUNCES THE ELIMINATION OF DIVIDEND AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE
The board of directors of Savanna Energy Services Corp. has decided to eliminate the quarterly dividend of three cents per share on Savanna's common shares after payment of the previously declared dividend to shareholders of record on March 31, 2015, and payable on April 15, 2015.
Operationally, the first quarter has been unfolding as expected. Operating days in Canadian and U.S. drilling, as well as operating hours in Canadian well servicing, are expected to be 40 to 50 per cent lower than in first quarter 2014, while U.S. well-servicing operating hours should remain relatively flat compared with first quarter 2014.
In Australia, one drilling rig came off contract in mid-February while the remaining four drilling rigs, nine workover rigs and three flushby units remain on contracts with expiries ranging between late 2015 and late 2017.
Savanna remains focused on managing its balance sheet and costs in all aspects of its business and leveraging its assets to maintain and gain market share. In addition to large cuts in capital spending, the company is aggressively reducing operating and administrative expenses to efficiently manage the level of assets and equipment Savanna currently believes will be utilized for the rest of 2015, while maintaining the ability to ramp up utilization as demand for Savanna's services increases. The following is an update on some of the key initiatives in this regard:
- Non-rig-related salaried positions have been reduced by 38 per cent from where
they were at the end of 2014.
- The organizational structure is being flattened to reduce layers of
management that were not required and is being further restructured for
the current environment.
- The company has closed four field locations and plans to consolidate two other
locations as the company continues to lower the company's cost structure.
- Unutilized equipment is being shared across operational divisions to
increase utilization and decrease operating expenses and maintenance
capital.
- The company is evaluating the sale of certain non-core assets.
Savanna's net 2015 capital program estimate remains at $45.8-million and will continue to be evaluated in light of further changes to anticipated activity levels as 2015 unfolds.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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