An upswing in exploration for minerals in West Africa provided good momentum for Capital Drilling PLC (LON:CAPD) in the latest half-year.
Revenues at the drilling contractor rose to US$27.8mln in the quarter to June, a 4.5% increase on the previous quarter though 9.4% lower than a year ago.
WATCH: Capital Drilling expanding in West Africa and targeting longer-term contracts
Revenue per drill rig rose 4.7% to US$200,000 on average.
Capital has been shifting kit out of Tanzania, where Acacia Mining is a substantial customer, over to the west of the continent.
There were 26 rigs in the Ivory Coast, Mali and Mauritania at end June out of a total fleet of 95 with a further six rigs scheduled to move in the next quarter.
"Market sentiment remains buoyant and we are seeing further strength in the exploration markets and increasing drilling budgets from major mining companies," said Jamie Boyton, executive chairman.
"There remains a fundamental requirement from the mining industry to replace resources and reserves depleted during the downturn, when exploration drilling was significantly reduced due to budgetary constraints.
"We remain confident that we will secure further contract wins in the current quarter.
New operational centres in Ivory Coast and Mali will enable more rigs to be deployed into what is regarded as one of the fastest growing drilling markets in the industry, he added.
Fleet utilisation rose to 48% from 44% over the quarter and Boynton expects a further rise over the remainder of the year as new contracts start.