A rig is set up at Precision Drilling yard in Nisku, Alberta on Tuesday, February 17, 2014.AMBER BRACKEN/The Globe and Mail
Precision Drilling Corp. (TSX:PD) reported a better-than-expected result for its latest quarter on Thursday as it lost $29.8-million.
The loss by the oilfield services company amounted to 10 cents per diluted share in its second quarter compared with a loss of $7.2-million or two cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
Analysts had expected the company to report a loss of 18 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue was also better than expected even though it slipped to $334.5-million, down from $475.2-million a year ago.
Analysts had expected revenue of $319.7-million.
Precision Drilling chief executive Kevin Neveu said the first half of the year has seen a substantial reduction in demand for the company's services due to low commodity prices and smaller drilling budgets.