Rising resource prices will help these two

Article Excerpt

MAJOR DRILLING $21.93 (Toronto symbol MDI; SI Rating: Speculative) (www.majordrilling.com; 1-866-264-3986; Shares outstanding: 23.7 million; Market cap: $520.1 million) is a large contract-drilling company that mainly serves the mining industry. In the three months ended April 30, 2009, Major Drilling’s revenue fell 60.9%, to $66.4 million from $170 million. It lost $4.6 million, or $0.19 a share, compared to a profit of $25.5 million, or $1.07 a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter’s earnings included a $2.1-million restructuring charge. Cash flow was positive, at $2.8 million, or $0.12 a share. In January, many of Major’s customers delayed or cancelled their exploration plans because of the recession and lower gold and base-metal prices. Drilling remained slow through February, March and April. In turn, the drilling slowdown lowered the prices that drillers like Major can charge for their services. The company was able to offset some of its price drops by lowering capital expenditures, cutting jobs and selling off older drilling rigs. While drilling will…