Precision Drilling Announces 2025 Fourth Quarter and Year End Unaudited Financial Results
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This news release contains “forward-looking information and statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. For a full disclosure of the forward-looking information and statements and the risks to which they are subject, see the “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements” later in this release. This release contains references to certain Financial Measures and Ratios, including Adjusted EBITDA (earnings (loss) before income taxes, loss (gain) on investments and other assets, finance charges, foreign exchange, loss on asset decommissioning, loss (gain) on asset disposals, and depreciation and amortization), Funds Provided by (Used in) Operations, Net Capital Spending, Working Capital and Total Long-term Financial Liabilities. These terms do not have standardized meanings prescribed under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Accounting Standards and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. See “Financial Measures and Ratios” later in this release.
Precision Drilling Corporation (“Precision” or the “Company”) (TSX:PD; NYSE:PDS) announces 2025 fourth quarter results and capital allocation plans for 2026 to drive shareholder value.
Financial Highlights and 2026 Capital Allocation Plans
Operational Highlights
(1) See "FINANACIAL MEASURES AND RATOS".
MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY
Precision's President and CEO, Carey Ford, provided the following commentary: “In 2026, Precision enters its 75 th year of delivering High Performance, High Value results to our customers and shareholders. We continue to meet the evolving needs of the energy industry by attracting, developing, and retaining the highest-quality people, and by delivering advanced, scalable technology across our fleet. Our ability to execute reliably and support our customers’ development plans has been central to our long-standing track record of success. This enduring foundation supports Precision as we deliver sustained, long-term value for shareholders.
"Our fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial and operational results underscore the effectiveness of Precision’s High Performance, High Value strategy. For the year, our people delivered on our capital commitments to shareholders, with a combined $176 million allocated to debt reduction and share repurchases, while investing $263 million in equipment and technology-driven initiatives that will continue to differentiate Precision in the industry. For the quarter, we grew revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, funds provided by operations, as well as our Canadian and U.S. market share, compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. We look to build on these trends in 2026.
"Today, Precision is the second-most-active North American driller, with 123 rigs working from northern British Columbia to south Texas and from New Mexico to Pennsylvania. Our customers are demanding safe, efficient, and repeatable results, and we meet those demands with our fleet of Super Series drilling rigs, Alpha TM digital technologies, and EverGreen TM environmental solutions. Although oil and natural gas prices remain volatile, our customers are taking a disciplined approach to their development plans, driving steady activity for Precision and supporting rig upgrades.
"Precision’s ability to leverage our cross-border scale and vertical integration to complete rig upgrades for customers was on full display in 2025. During the year, we upgraded 27 drilling rigs, enhancing the performance capability of our fleet and deepening relationships with several key customers in both Canada and the U.S., while generating attractive returns. We expect this competitive advantage in upgrading our drilling rigs will support our market position in the future.
"Complementing our North American drilling operations are our international drilling operations with seven contracted rigs in the Middle East and our Completion and Production Services business, where our market-leading well service and rental position in Canada continues to generate robust free cash flow.
“This year we are excited to build on our momentum and advance our High Performance, High Value strategy by delivering on our 2026 strategic priorities that include driving revenue growth through performance-driven technology, operational excellence, and deeper customer relationships; maximizing free cash flow through disciplined capital allocation; and enhancing shareholder returns with targeted debt reduction and direct capital returns.
“I would like to recognize the dedication of our field leadership and crews to safety and customer service, and congratulate all Precision employees on an excellent 2025 and their enthusiasm for the future," concluded Mr. Ford.
SELECT FINANCIAL AND OPERATING INFORMATION
Financial Highlights
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
Operating Highlights
(1) The service rig fleet and service rig operating hours exclude our U.S. operations that we wound down in the second quarter of 2025.
Drilling Activity
(1) Average number of drilling rigs working or moving.
Financial Position
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
Summary for the three months ended December 31, 2025:
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS.”
Summary for the year ended December 31, 2025:
STRATEGY
Precision’s vision is to be globally recognized as the High Performance, High Value provider of land drilling services. We work toward this vision by defining and measuring our results against strategic priorities established at the beginning of every year.
Below we summarize the results of our 2025 strategic priorities.
2026 Strategic Priorities
(1) See “SEGMENT REVIEW OF CONTRACT DRILLING SERVICES".
OUTLOOK
Near-term expectations for global energy demand growth remain tempered by persistent geopolitical uncertainties and continued signs of oversupply. However, this narrative has started to soften as demand indicators stabilize, particularly in natural gas markets, where accelerating LNG supply growth and strengthening consumption in key regions, including Asia and Europe, are expected to support a more constructive demand outlook in 2026.
Looking further ahead, we believe the long-term fundamentals for energy remain favorable, underpinned by economic expansion, rising energy needs from emerging economies, and sustained global appetite for LNG driven by the continued build-out of LNG infrastructure and trade flows. Additionally, natural gas-fired power generation is poised for multi-year structural growth as data centers scale rapidly to meet AI driven electricity demand.
In Canada, constructive commodity prices for heavy oil and condensate, plus additional takeaway capacity for both oil and natural gas continue to support Canadian activity. LNG Canada made its first shipment at the beginning of July and as customers take a long-term view of this business, demand for our Super Triple rigs is near full capacity. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion continues to support heavy oil production, driving our Super Single rig utilization toward full capacity. We currently have 85 rigs active, after peaking at 87 rigs in January, and expect our winter drilling season activity to exceed last year's level.
In the U.S., while volatile WTI oil prices and drilling efficiencies continue to suppress oil-targeted rig activity, the natural gas rig count increased approximately 20% in 2025 as customers became more constructive on LNG off-take and AI demand. We capitalized on these emerging opportunities in natural gas basins such as the Haynesville and Marcellus and increased our U.S. drilling rig utilization days 25% over the last nine months of 2025. We currently have 38 rigs active and continue to have encouraging customer conversations that could result in additional activity increases in 2026.
Internationally, we currently have seven active rigs, including four in Kuwait and three in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, supported by contracts that extend into 2027 and 2028. In early 2026, one Kuwait rig was demobilized and activity was backfilled by reactivating our rig in Saudi Arabia that had been temporarily suspended in 2025. While the Saudi Arabia rig generates a lower operating margin, this transition maintains overall utilization levels in 2026. We continue to seek opportunities to increase our international utilization by pursuing long-term, contract-backed investments.
As the premier well service provider in Canada, the long-term outlook for this business is positive, driven by increased takeaway capacity from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and LNG Canada, and our High Performance, High Value service offering. We expect customer demand and pricing to remain strong into the foreseeable future, assuming no significant change in market conditions.
Overall, our outlook for the year is constructive and will continue to be commodity price dependent. In Canada, we expect our first quarter activity to surpass activity a year ago, as our 32 Super Triple and 47 available Super Single rigs are nearly fully utilized. In the U.S., we expect activity to be steady quarter over quarter, with some potential upside. Our operating margins in Canada should average between $14,000 and $15,000 per utilization day for the first quarter of 2026, which is consistent with the margin we reported in the first quarter of 2025. In the U.S., we expect our first quarter operating margins to remain stable and average between US$8,000 and US$9,000 per utilization day.
Capital spending in 2026 is expected to be $245 million and capital spending by spend category (1) includes $182 million for maintenance, infrastructure, and intangibles and $63 million for expansion and upgrades. The 2026 capital plan may fluctuate with activity levels and customer contract upgrade opportunities.
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
Contracts
The following chart outlines the average number of drilling rigs under term contract by quarter as at February 11, 2026. For the quarter ending after December 31, 2025, this chart represents the minimum number of term contracts from which we will earn revenue. We expect the actual number of contracted rigs to vary in future periods as we sign additional term contracts.
SEGMENTED FINANCIAL RESULTS
Precision operates primarily in Canada, the United States and certain international locations, in two industry segments: Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services. Contract Drilling Services includes drilling rigs, procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies, and the manufacture, sale and repair of drilling equipment. Completion and Production Services includes service rigs, oilfield equipment rental, and camp services.
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
SEGMENT REVIEW OF CONTRACT DRILLING SERVICES
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
(1) Canadian operations only.
(2) Baker Hughes rig counts.
(1) United States lower 48 operations only.
(2) Baker Hughes rig counts.
SEGMENT REVIEW OF COMPLETION AND PRODUCTION SERVICES
(1) See “FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS”.
(2) The service rig fleet and service rig operating hours exclude our U.S. operations that we wound down in the second quarter of 2025.
OTHER ITEMS
Share-based Incentive Compensation Plans
We have several cash and equity-settled share-based incentive plans for non-management directors, officers, and other eligible employees. Our accounting policies for each share-based incentive plan can be found in our 2024 Annual Report.
A summary of expense amounts under these plans during the reporting periods are as follows:
The majority of our share-based compensation plans are classified as cash-settled and impacted by changes in our share price. For the year ended December 31, 2025 our share-based compensation expense was $24 million compared to $47 million last year, as our share price appreciation was less in 2025 compared to 2024.
Income Taxes
In 2025, we recognized an income tax expense of $53 million with a significant portion related to a higher deferred income tax expense pertaining to our U.S. operations. We waived certain U.S. tax deductions to mitigate minimum taxes that the Corporation became subject to as a result of stronger operating results. Consequently, Precision does not expect to be subject to U.S. income tax for several years. The waiving of these U.S. tax deductions has been accounted for as a change in tax estimate and adjusted prospectively, resulting in an increase to deferred tax expense and corresponding increase to the deferred tax liability.
FINANCIAL MEASURES AND RATIOS
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this release, including statements that contain words such as "could", "should", "can", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "expect", "believe", "will", "may", "continue", "project", "potential" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking information and statements").
In particular, forward-looking information and statements include, but are not limited to, the following:
These forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by Precision in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. These include, among other things:
Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information and statements. Whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:
Readers are cautioned that the forgoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect our business, operations or financial results are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities, including but not limited to Precision’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2024, which may be accessed on Precision’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca or under Precision’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof and Precision undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (UNAUDITED)
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET EARNINGS (LOSS) (UNAUDITED)
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (UNAUDITED)
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (UNAUDITED)
2025 FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
Precision Drilling Corporation has scheduled a conference call and webcast to begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. MT (1:00 p.m. ET) on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
To participate in the conference call please register at the URL link below. Once registered, you will receive a dial-in number and a unique PIN, which will allow you to ask questions.
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI8ce0356cb5f6441baed7b455664272f2
The call will also be webcast and can be accessed through the link below. A replay of the webcast call will be available on Precision’s website until the following quarterly conference all is posted.
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/gfacaf25
About Precision
Precision is a leading provider of safe and environmentally responsible High Performance, High Value services to the energy industry, offering customers access to an extensive fleet of Super Series drilling rigs. Precision has commercialized an industry-leading digital technology portfolio known as Alpha™ that utilizes advanced automation software and analytics to generate efficient, predictable, and repeatable results for energy customers. Our drilling services are enhanced by our EverGreen™ suite of environmental solutions, which bolsters our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our operations. Additionally, Precision offers well service rigs, rental equipment and camps all backed by a comprehensive mix of technical support services and skilled, experienced personnel.
Precision is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “PD” and on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “PDS”.
Additional Information
For further information, please contact:
Lavonne Zdunich, CPA, CA
Vice President, Investor Relations
403.716.4500
800, 525 - 8th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 1G1
Website: www.precisiondrilling.com