Demand accelerates for their products

Article Excerpt

PASON SYSTEMS $20.19 (Toronto symbol PSI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-301-3400; www.pason.com; Shares outstanding: 85.1 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Dividend yield: 3.4%) serves drilling contractors for oil and gas firms in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Argentina. The company provides them with rental equipment for monitoring and managing land-based oil rigs. Its systems also let clients remotely monitor their wells. In the quarter ended March 31, 2018, Pason’s revenue jumped 25.0%, to $73.8 million from $59.0 million a year earlier. The main reason for the rise was increased oil drilling activity in the U.S. Cash flow per share soared 60.0%, to $0.40 from $0.25 a year earlier. That was due to the higher revenue, but also from lower costs following the company’s restructuring. Meanwhile, Pason holds cash of $162.8 million, or $1.91 a share; it has no debt. In the latest quarter, it spent $6.4 million, or a high 8.6% of revenue, on research. The company’s products let drilling firms increase their output and lower their operating…