Poetic Portfolios

About a month ago, I wondered if a turnaround was on the way at Dawson Geophysical (DWSN). I even noted that:

Adding just two crews in a rising market could bring $55 million in revenues and $12 million in owner earnings per quarter (excludes depreciation). Even at 10 times $48 million in annual cash flow, shares could rise to $60 per share.

When Dawson announced earnings a few weeks ago, they indeed noted that demand has turned and that they added two crews. (more…)

In their fourth quarter, Dawson Geophysical’s (DWSN) business continued to contract. Another crew was cut in the quarter as revenues fell 45% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2008 to $47 million. The company lost $2 million for the quarter or $0.26 per share. Dawson’s business, however, depends largely on natural gas prices. The rise in natural gas prices could lead to greater demand from their customers later this year. (more…)

About a month ago, Dawson Geophysical (NASD: DWSN) announced their third quarter earnings. The company lost $1.6 million on operating revenues of $52 million. Dawson has been indirectly impacted by the falling price of natural gas as its customers have cut back on new data gathering. (more…)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I think a disciplined investor should focus on earnings and intrinsic values rather than market quotes. So it is because of their recently reported earnings that I am disappointed with Dawson Geophysical (NASD: DWSN). After last quarter, I estimated full year proforma earnings for Dawson prior to adding their 15th crew. I expected that after having a full quarter with 15 crews that I would once again have to revise my estimates upward. It turns out that the opposite is true. (more…)

Dawson Geophysical (NASD: DWSN) has been pleasantly surprising all year. Their fourth quarter was no different. If you look at each quarter in succession, it is quickly obvious that each quarter was amazing. When I glanced at Dawson’s fourth quarter earnings, I assumed that they achieved their results due to the deployment of their 15th crew. However, this crew was not deployed until early September, giving them only three weeks worth of revenue!

No, Dawson achieved their record earnings from the labor of their 14 crews that were up and running. The market wasn’t so enthused about Dawson’s results. I think this is because they have been reluctant to start discussing crew number 16. (more…)

The following post on Dawson Geophysical (NASD: DWSN) was originally posted August 27, 2007 at odysseyroad.com.

I need to be better about circling back and updating my valuations on companies after earnings. Dawson comes first because it seems like every quarter they re-write what’s possible. First the numbers as compared to their fiscal second quarter numbers. (more…)

The following post on Dawson Geophysical (NASD: DWSN) was originally posted May 25, 2007 at odysseyroad.com.

About the Company

Dawson provides onshore seismic data acquisition services in the United States. The company acquires this data for oil and natural gas companies. Essentially, their business is people using equipment to collect information. The equipment needs are important because much of the cash flow generated by the company is used to purchase better technology, which in turn can collect more data. The company refers to this as increasing channel count. People are also important to Dawson because their ability to train new crews can impact their growth. (more…)