Pioneer Drilling Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pioneer Drilling Company,
Inc. (NYSE Amex : PDC) today reported financial and operating results for the
three months ended September 30, 2009.

Third Quarter 2009 Results
Net loss for the third quarter was $9.2 million, or $0.18 per share, compared
with a net loss for the second quarter of 2009 ("the prior quarter") of $6.3
million, or $0.13 per share. Net income for the third quarter of 2008 ("the
year-earlier quarter") was $24.2 million, or $0.48 per diluted share.

Revenues for the third quarter were $74.4 million, compared with $69.1 million
for the prior quarter and $174.2 million for the year-earlier quarter.
EBITDA(1) for the third quarter was $15.2 million, compared to $17.9 million
for the prior quarter and $64.7 million for the year-earlier quarter.

First Nine Months of 2009 Results
Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 was $14.8 million, or
$0.30 per share, compared with net income of $55.2 million, or $1.09 per
diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2008. Revenues for the
first nine months of 2009 were $244.3 million, compared with $440.2 million
for the same period last year. EBITDA for the first nine months of 2009 was
$60.9 million, compared to $154.3 million for the comparable period in 2008.

Operating Results
Revenues for the Drilling Services Division were $48.1 million for the third
quarter, a 5% increase from the prior quarter. During the third quarter, the
utilization rate for our drilling rig fleet averaged 35%, flat with the prior
quarter and down from 96% utilization in the year-earlier quarter. Average
drilling revenues per day increased 4% and average operating costs per day
increased 22% in the third quarter, compared to the prior quarter, due to a
shift to more turnkey contracts and an increase in our Colombian operations
which represented a larger portion of our drilling services operating results.
Both turnkey contracts and our Colombian operations have higher average
revenue and operating costs per day when compared to daywork contracts in the
U.S. The overall increase in average revenues per day was partly offset by
the impact of the expiration of six long-term drilling contracts during the
third quarter which were earning relatively high daywork revenue rates. The
expiration of these contracts also contributed to a 27% decrease in Drilling
Services margin(2) per day to $5,623 in the third quarter as compared to
$7,723 in the prior quarter.

Revenues for the Production Services Division increased $2.9 million from
$23.4 million in the second quarter to $26.3 million in the third quarter.
Production Services margin(2) increased 14% to $9.6 million, compared to $8.5
million in the prior quarter. Margin as a percentage of revenue increased one
basis point to 37% from the prior quarter. Currently, 65 of Pioneer's 74
workover rigs have crews assigned and are operating or being actively
marketed, while the remaining nine workover rigs are idle with no crews
assigned.

Our third quarter operating results reflect the positive impact of a $1.3
million bad debt recovery relating to a customer's past due account receivable
balance for which we had previously established an allowance for doubtful
accounts in December 2008.

"In our Drilling Services Division, activity has improved in the conventional
drilling regions, and there is increasing demand for our rigs in the domestic
shale regions and in certain international markets," said Wm. Stacy Locke,
President and CEO of Pioneer Drilling. The current environment continues to
be challenging, but we were successful in obtaining new drilling contracts to
offset the impact of six drilling rigs that came off long-term drilling
contracts during the third quarter. Utilization remained flat during the third
quarter and is showing modest improvement at 38% currently as we begin the
fourth quarter.

"Because of increasing activity in the shale regions and international
markets, we are focused on improving utilization and drilling margins by
pursuing new opportunities in these regions, and we are selectively upgrading
our drilling rigs to optimize our ability to meet the demand. During the third
quarter, we expanded our operations in the Marcellus Shale to three drilling
rigs, all of which are currently operating, and we are marketing numerous
additional drilling rigs in the area. Likewise, in the Bakken Shale, we
activated a third rig in early October, have a fourth rig mobilizing to begin
a new contract today, and will have a fifth rig beginning operations next
week. We see additional rig opportunities in the Bakken for next year. Rig
demand is also improving in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville Shale regions where
we are already active.

"In the international arena, we have five drilling rigs in Colombia, all of
which are currently operating. We have also moved two 1,500 horsepower
drilling rigs to Houston to prepare them for international opportunities in
Latin America.

"In our Production Services Division, pricing remained competitive through the
third quarter, but we see improvement in demand as reflected in the 12%
increase in revenues in the third quarter over the prior quarter," continued
Mr. Locke. "During the third quarter, we expanded our well servicing
operations in the Williston Basin, Fayetteville Shale and Louisiana as well as
our wireline operations in the Marcellus Shale, Haynesville Shale and
Louisiana. All of these regions have good near-term growth opportunities."

"On October 5, 2009, we completed an amendment to our credit facility. The
terms of the amended credit facility provide us with more financial covenant
flexibility and the ability to pursue our growth objectives," Locke said.

Pioneer's working capital was $73.0 million at September 30, 2009, up from
$70.0 million at June 30, 2009 and $64.4 million at December 31, 2008. Our
cash and cash equivalents were $53.3 million at the end of the third quarter,
up $9.6 million from the prior quarter and up $26.5 million from December 31,
2008. For the nine months of 2009, cash equivalents increased primarily due
to cash provided by operations of $110.3 million, offset by $67.1 million of
property and equipment expenditures and $17.1 million of debt payments. We
have $56.0 million of borrowing availability on our recently amended senior
secured revolving credit facility, with $257.5 million due at maturity on
August 31, 2012.

Conference Call
Pioneer's management team will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m.
Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time), to discuss these results. To
participate in the call, dial 480-629-9692 at least 10 minutes early and ask
for the Pioneer Drilling conference call. A replay will be available
approximately two hours after the call ends and will be accessible until
November 12. To access the replay, dial (303) 590-3030 and enter the pass
code 4176067 #.

The conference call will also be available on the Internet at Pioneer's Web
site at www.pioneerdrlg.com. To listen to the live call, visit Pioneer's Web
site at least 10 minutes early to register and download any necessary audio
software. An archive will be available shortly after the call. For more
information, please contact Donna Washburn at DRG&E at (713) 529-6600 or
e-mail dmw@drg-e.com.

About Pioneer
Pioneer Drilling Company provides contract land drilling services to
independent and major oil and gas operators in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
Kansas, the Rocky Mountain and Appalachian regions and internationally in
Colombia through its Pioneer Drilling Services Division. The Company also
provides workover rig, wireline and fishing and rental services to producers
in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain and Appalachian regions
through its Pioneer Production Services Division. Its fleet consists of 71
land drilling rigs that drill at depths ranging from 6,000 to 25,000 feet, 74
workover rigs (sixty-nine 550 horsepower rigs, four 600 horsepower rigs and
one 400 horsepower rig), 61 wireline units, and fishing and rental tools.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, Non-GAAP Financial
Measures and Reconciliations
Statements we make in this news release that express a belief, expectation or
intention, as well as those that are not historical fact, are forward-looking
statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our
actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, could differ
materially from those we express in this news release as a result of a variety
of factors, including general economic and business conditions and industry
trends, risks associated with the current global economic crisis and its
impact on capital markets and liquidity, the continued strength or weakness of
the oil and gas production industry in the geographic areas in which we
operate including the price of oil and natural gas in general, and the recent
precipitous decline in prices in particular, and the impact of commodity
prices and other factors upon future decisions about onshore exploration and
development projects to be made by oil and gas companies and their ability to
obtain necessary financing, the highly competitive nature of our business,
difficulty in integrating the services of acquired companies, including the
production services businesses of WEDGE, Competition, Paltec and Pettus in an
efficient and effective manner, the availability, terms and deployment of
capital, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in, or our failure
or inability to comply with, government regulations, including those relating
to the environment, the economic and business conditions of our international
operations, challenges in achieving strategic objectives, and the risk that
our markets do not evolve as anticipated. We have discussed many of these
factors in more detail in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2008. These factors are not necessarily all the important
factors that could affect us. Unpredictable or unknown factors we have not
discussed in this news release, or in our annual report on Form 10-K could
also have material adverse effects on actual results of matters that are the
subject of our forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements
speak only as the date on which they are made and we undertake no duty to
update or revise any forward-looking statements. We advise our shareholders
that they should (1) be aware that important factors not referred to above
could affect the accuracy of our forward-looking statements and (2) use
caution and common sense when considering our forward-looking statements.

This news release contains non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC
Regulation G. A reconciliation of each such measure to its most directly
comparable GAAP financial measure, together with an explanation of why
management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful
information to investors, is provided in the following tables.

(1) We define EBITDA as earnings (loss) before interest income (expense),
taxes, depreciation, amortization and impairments. Although not prescribed
under GAAP, we believe the presentation of EBITDA is relevant and useful
because it helps our investors understand our operating performance and makes
it easier to compare our results with those of other companies that have
different financing, capital or tax structures. EBITDA should not be
considered in isolation from or as a substitute for net income, as an
indication of operating performance or cash flows from operating activities or
as a measure of liquidity. A reconciliation of net earnings (loss) to EBITDA
is included in the tables to this press release. EBITDA, as we calculate it,
may not be comparable to EBITDA measures reported by other companies. In
addition, EBITDA does not represent funds available for discretionary use.

(2) Drilling Services margin represents contract drilling revenues less
contract drilling operating costs. Production Services margin represents
production services revenues less production services operating costs. We
believe that Drilling Services margin and Production Services margin are
useful measures for evaluating financial performance, although they are not
measures of financial performance under GAAP. However, Drilling Services
margin and Production Services margin are common measures of operating
performance used by investors, financial analysts, rating agencies and Pioneer
management. A reconciliation of Drilling Services margin and Production
Services margin to net earnings (loss) is included in the tables to this press
release. Drilling Services margin and Production Services margin as presented
may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other
companies.

- Financial Statements and Information Follow -

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)

Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, June 30, September 30,
2009 2008 2009 2009 2008
---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Revenues:
Drilling services $48,084 $124,297 $45,720 $165,170 333,587
Production services 26,282 49,948 23,400 79,156 106,602
------ ------ ------ ------ -------
Total revenue 74,366 174,245 69,120 244,326 440,189
------ ------- ------ ------- -------

Costs and Expenses:
Drilling services 35,315 70,342 28,437 107,880 198,115
Production services 16,638 25,025 14,906 50,260 53,871
Depreciation and
amortization 26,952 24,225 26,069 78,467 61,924
Selling, general and
administrative 8,892 12,840 8,951 27,870 32,712
Bad debt (recovery)
expense (1,409) (260) 30 (1,713) (216)
------ ---- --- ------ ----

Total costs and
expenses 86,388 132,172 78,393 262,764 346,406
------ ------- ------ ------- -------
Income (loss) from
operations (12,022) 42,073 (9,273) (18,438) 93,783
------- ------ ------ ------- ------

Other (expense) income:
Interest expense (1,839) (3,773) (1,728) (5,555) (9,612)
Interest income 43 205 55 182 995
Other 222 (1,551) 1,140 847 (1,389)
--- ------ ----- --- ------
Total other expense (1,574) (5,119) (533) (4,526) (10,006)
------ ------ ---- ------ -------

Income (loss) before
income taxes (13,596) 36,954 (9,806) (22,964) 83,777
Income tax benefit
(expense) 4,406 (12,760) 3,547 8,133 (28,619)
----- ------- ----- ----- -------

Net earnings (loss) $(9,190) $24,194 $(6,259) $(14,831) $55,158
======= ======= ======= ======== =======

Earnings (loss) per
common share:
Basic $(0.18) $0.49 $(0.13) $(0.30) $1.11
====== ===== ====== ====== =====
Diluted $(0.18) $0.48 $(0.13) $(0.30) $1.09
====== ===== ====== ====== =====

Weighted average number
of shares outstanding:
Basic 49,845 49,791 49,826 49,831 49,780
Diluted 49,845 50,449 49,826 49,831 50,426

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)

September 30, 2009 December 31, 2008
------------------ -----------------
ASSETS (unaudited) (audited)
------
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $53,305 $26,821
Receivables, net of allowance
for doubtful accounts 70,828 99,423
Deferred income taxes 4,336 6,270
Inventory 4,855 3,874
Prepaid expenses and other
current assets 3,250 8,902
----- -----
Total current assets 136,574 145,290

Net property and equipment 617,254 627,562
Intangible assets, net of
amortization 26,539 29,969
Other long-term assets 18,626 21,658
------ ------
Total assets $798,993 $824,479
======== ========

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
------------------------------------
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $16,680 $21,830
Current portion of long-term
debt 2,093 17,298
Prepaid drilling contracts - 1,171
Accrued expenses 44,779 40,619
------ ------
Total current liabilities 63,552 80,918
Long-term debt, less current
portion 260,259 262,115
Other long term liabilities 6,054 6,413
Deferred income taxes 65,325 60,915
------ ------
Total liabilities 395,190 410,361
Total shareholders' equity 403,803 414,118
------- -------
Total liabilities and
shareholders' equity $798,993 $824,479
======== ========

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

Nine months ended
September 30,
2009 2008
---- ----
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings (loss) $(14,831) $55,158
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings (loss)
to net cash
provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 78,467 61,924
Allowance for doubtful accounts (1,237) 270
Gain on dispositions of property and equipment (84) (512)
Stock-based compensation expense 5,561 2,924
Deferred income taxes 7,527 10,700
Change in other assets 1,061 355
Change in non-current liabilities (1,169) (329)
Changes in current assets and liabilities 35,006 (4,735)
------ ------
Net cash provided by operating activities 110,301 125,755
------- -------

Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisition of WEDGE - (313,606)
Acquisition of Competition Wireline - (26,770)
Acquisition of other production services
businesses - (6,520)
Purchases of property and equipment (67,058) (99,794)
Purchase of auction rate securities - (16,475)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 608 2,712
Proceeds from insurance recoveries 36 2,638
--- -----
Net cash used in investing activities (66,414) (457,815)
------- --------

Cash flows from financing activities:
Debt repayments (17,060) (44,404)
Proceeds from issuance of debt - 319,500
Debt issuance costs (77) (3,319)
Proceeds from sale of common stock - 672
Purchase of treasury stock (31) -
Excess tax benefit (reductions) for stock
option exercises (235) 250
---- ---
Net cash (used in) provided by financing
activities (17,403) 272,699
------- -------

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents 26,484 (59,361)
Beginning cash and cash equivalents 26,821 76,703
------ ------
Ending cash and cash equivalents $53,305 $17,342
======= =======

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Operating Statistics
(in thousands, except average number of drilling rigs, utilization rate
and revenue day information)
(unaudited)

Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, June 30, September 30,
2009 2008 2009 2009 2008
---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Drilling Services
Division:
Revenues $48,084 $124,297 $45,720 $165,170 $333,587
Operating costs 35,315 70,342 28,437 107,880 198,115
------ ------ ------ ------- -------
Drilling services
margin (1) $12,769 $53,955 $17,283 $57,290 $135,472
======= ======= ======= ======= ========

Average number of
drilling rigs 71.0 67.7 70.7 70.6 67.1
Utilization rate 35% 96% 35% 41% 90%
Revenue days 2,271 6,017 2,238 7,805 16,528

Average revenues
per day $21,173 $20,658 $20,429 $21,162 $20,183
Average operating
costs per day 15,550 11,691 12,706 13,822 11,987
------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Drilling services
margin per day (2)
$5,623 $8,967 $7,723 $7,340 $8,196
====== ====== ====== ====== ======

Production Services Division:
Revenues $26,282 $49,948 $23,400 $79,156 $106,602
Operating costs 16,638 25,025 14,906 50,260 53,871
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Production
services margin (1) $9,644 $24,923 $8,494 $28,896 $52,731
====== ======= ====== ======= =======

Combined:
Revenues $74,366 $174,245 $69,120 $244,326 $440,189
Operating Costs 51,953 95,367 43,343 158,140 251,986
------ ------ ------ ------- -------
Combined margin $22,413 $78,878 $25,777 $86,186 $188,203
======= ======= ======= ======= ========

EBITDA (3) $15,152 $64,747 $17,936 $60,876 $154,318
======= ======= ======= ======= ========

(1) Drilling services margin represents contract drilling revenues less
contract drilling operating costs. Production services margin
represents production services revenue less production services
operating costs. Pioneer believes that Drilling services margin and
Production services margin are useful measures for evaluating
financial performance, although they are not measures of financial
performance under generally accepted accounting principles. However,
Drilling services margin and Production services margin are common
measures of operating performance used by investors, financial
analysts, rating agencies and Pioneer's management. A reconciliation
of Drilling services margin and Production services margin to net
earnings (loss) is included in the table below. Drilling services
margin and production services margin as presented may not be
comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other
companies.

(2) Drilling services margin per revenue day represents the Drilling
Services Division's average revenue per revenue day less average
operating costs per revenue day.

(3) We define EBITDA as earnings (loss) before interest income (expense),
taxes, depreciation, amortization and impairments. Although not
prescribed under GAAP, we believe the presentation of EBITDA is
relevant and useful because it helps our investors understand our
operating performance and makes it easier to compare our results with
those of other companies that have different financing, capital or tax
structures. EBITDA should not be considered in isolation from or as a
substitute for net earnings (loss) as an indication of operating
performance or cash flows from operating activities or as a measure of
liquidity. A reconciliation of net earnings (loss) to EBITDA is
included in the table below. EBITDA, as we calculate it, may not be
comparable to EBITDA measures reported by other companies. In
addition, EBITDA does not represent funds available for discretionary
use.

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of Combined Drilling Services Margin and Production
Services Margin and EBITDA to Net Earnings (Loss)
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, June 30, September 30,
2009 2008 2009 2009 2008
---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Combined margin $22,413 $78,878 $25,777 $86,186 $188,203

Selling, general
and administrative (8,892) (12,840) (8,951) (27,870) (32,712)
Bad debt recovery
(expense) 1,409 260 (30) 1,713 216
Other income
(expense) 222 (1,551) 1,140 847 (1,389)
--- ------ ----- --- ------
EBITDA 15,152 64,747 17,936 60,876 154,318

Depreciation and
amortization (26,952) (24,225) (26,069) (78,467) (61,924)
Interest income
(expense), net (1,796) (3,568) (1,673) (5,373) (8,617)
Income tax benefit
(expense) 4,406 (12,760) 3,547 8,133 (28,619)
----- ------- ----- ----- -------
Net earnings
(loss) $(9,190) $24,194 $(6,259) $(14,831) $55,158
======= ======= ======= ======== =======

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Capital Expenditures
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Budget
Nine months ------
Three months ended ended Year Ending
September 30, June 30, September 30, December 31,
2009 2008 2009 2009 2008 2009
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Capital expenditures:

Drilling Services
Division:
Routine rigs $1,026 $3,736 $1,788 $6,710 $11,557 $13,100
Discretionary 14,932 15,211 5,455 26,450 47,929 47,100
Tubulars 92 - 1,102 2,062 1,050 5,000
New-builds and
acquisitions - 11,531 - - 13,365 -
--- ------ --- --- ------ ---

Total Drilling
Services
Division
capital
expenditures 16,050 30,478 8,345 35,222 73,901 65,200
------ ------ ----- ------ ------ ------

Production Services
Division:
Routine 1,283 2,460 1,023 4,019 3,403 5,800
Discretionary 285 819 90 456 1,029 2,200
New-builds and
acquisitions 729 13,614 246 5,454 22,443 7,000
--- ------ --- ----- ------ -----

Total
Production
Services
Division
capital
expenditures 2,297 16,893 1,359 9,929 26,875 15,000
----- ------ ----- ----- ------ ------

Actual and
budgeted capital
expenditures 18,347 47,371 9,704 45,151 100,776 80,200
------ ------ ----- ------ ------- ------

Budgeted capital
expenditures
approved in 2008
that will be
incurred
in 2009 894 - 8,778 19,310 - 19,310
--- --- ----- ------ --- ------

$19,241 $47,371 $18,482 $64,461 $100,776 $99,510
======= ======= ======= ======= ======== =======

PIONEER DRILLING COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Drilling Rig, Workover Rig and Wireline Unit Information

Rig Type
Mechanical Electric Total Rigs
---------- -------- ----------
Drilling Services Division:

Drilling rig horsepower ratings:
550 to 700 HP 6 - 6
750 to 900 HP 14 2 16
1000 HP 18 12 30
1200 to 2000 HP 3 16 19
--- --- ---
Total 41 30 71
=== === ===

Drilling rig depth ratings:
Less than 10,000 feet 8 2 10
10,000 to 13,900 feet 30 7 37
14,000 to 25,000 feet 3 21 24
--- --- ---
Total 41 30 71
=== === ===

Production Services Division:

Workover rig horsepower ratings:
400 HP 1
550 HP 69
600 HP 4
---
Total 74
===

Wireline units 61
===

Fishing & Rental Tools Inventory $15 Million
===========

Contacts: Lorne E. Phillips, CFO
Pioneer Drilling Company
210-828-7689

Lisa Elliott / lelliott@drg-e.com
Anne Pearson / apearson@drg-e.com
DRG&E / 713-529-6600

SOURCE Pioneer Drilling Company, Inc.

Lorne E. Phillips, CFO of Pioneer Drilling Company, +1-210-828-7689; or Lisa
Elliott, lelliott@drg-e.com, or Anne Pearson, apearson@drg-e.com, both of
DRG&E, +1-713-529-6600, for Pioneer Drilling Company