UPDATE 1-Dawson Q1 profit misses Street view; shares fall
(Recasts throughout; adds details, share movement)
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Dawson Geophysical Co (DWSN.O), a provider of seismic data services to oil and gas companies, reported quarterly earnings that missed analysts' view due to higher operating costs, sending its shares down nearly 14 percent.
First-quarter earnings were $7.7 million, or $1 per share, compared with $5.4 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose 45 percent to $77.6 million.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1.11 per share, before items, on revenue of $77.4 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
The Midland, Texas-based company said the first quarter has historically been challenging for the company due to shorter days, weather concerns and downtime during holiday season.
Operating expenses rose 46 percent to $58.1 million compared to year-ago.
Earnings were hurt by higher depreciation costs, which rose 38 percent year-on-year to $5.6 million, reflecting its recent rise in capital investment, the company said in a statement.
Dawson's shares fell $8.22 to $51.50 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq. Excluding Wednesday's fall, the stock has fallen about 16.4 percent so far this year. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
