Houston-based Key Energy, a firm that’s expanded its holdings over the years by making acquisitions of a handful of Oklahoma energy operations reported first quarter loss of nearly $82 million.
The company said the loss translated to $0.51 per share, despite consolidated revenues of $111.1 million. The fourth quarter 2015 consolidated revenues had totaled $150.2 million with a pre-tax loss of $157.6 million.
“Further deterioration in oil prices early in the first quarter drove another sequential decline in oilfield services activity,” commented Robert Drummond, CEO. “We recognized the potential for lower first quarter activity in the fourth quarter and executed cost reduction measures early in the first quarter at both the field and corporate level.”
He said as a result of the moves, the company was able to limit operating losses to $3 million as the revenue dropped nearly $38 million.
“While we believe the recent increase in oil prices is a positive signal relative to the demand for our services by our customers,” said Drummond, “we’ve not seen an uptick in activity commensurate with that of oil prices.”
As part of the first quarter earnings report, Key Energy officials also announced they had been informed by the Justice Department that its probe into possible FCPA violations had been closed and the DOJ declined prosecution of the company. The company also said it had been in negotiations with the Division of Enforcement of the Securities Exchange Commission in an effort to reach a resolution of the staff’s investigation related to the same matters.