Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and I would like to welcome you to Arabian Drilling's first quarter 2026 results conference call on the 11th of May 2026. I will now pass the line to the Investor Relations and Communications Director, Mr. Bassem ElShawy. Please go ahead, Sir.
Thank you, Mike. [Non-English content] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for joining us today in our first quarter 2026 earnings call. We appreciate your time and continued interest in Arabian Drilling. This presentation contains forward-looking statements. We encourage you to review an accompanying disclaimer in this document for further information. As usual, I'm joined today by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Fahad Al-Bani and Farid Mustafayev. Farid will kind of walk you through the financial and operations overview, followed by Farid's detailed review of our financial performance. Over to you, Fahad.
Thank you, Bassem. [Non-English content] , and good afternoon, and thank you for participation in today call. Our quarterly performance showed positive improvement across all key financial metrics. Revenue was broadly flat quarter-on-quarter, fully in line with our guidance. EBITDA increased by 9.7%, reaching a margin of 35.2%. This is a direct result of higher utilization and improved operational efficiency. As a result, we returned to positive net income of SAR 7.1 million for the quarter. Operating cash flow remains strong while leverage steady, stable at two-fold. Moving to the next slide. Compared to quarter one last year, revenue declined by 9.8%, primarily driven by a normalization of rig move activity compared to the same period in the prior year. Additionally, lower utilization, particularly in the land segment, which also contributed to the decline.
EBITDA declined in line with revenue, reflecting both the lower activity level and the absence of the exceptionally profitable long rig move activity seen in Q1 2025. Net income decline was mainly driven by lower utilization levels, again, particularly in the land segment. Moving to the next slide. Our backlog continues to reach a new high. We closed the quarter at SAR 12.5 billion, representing 31% increase compared to last year. Utilization increased to 81.7% versus the prior quarter, supported by the resumption of operations for two lands and two offshore rigs. Our non-productive time and total recordable incident frequency metrics both remained lower below international and industry benchmark, reflecting consistent operational improvement and our continued focus on operational excellence. We also saw high rig move activity and importantly improved rig move efficiency as a result of increased operational focus.
We expect these efficiency gains to support better revenue quality going forward. Turning to key developments during the quarter, we successfully spudded our first international contract in the GCC, marking a significant milestone for Arabian Drilling. In parallel, some offshore rigs were suspended due to the current regional situation, which we are closely monitoring with our clients and relevant authorities. Finally, we have launched a company-wide cost optimization program with multiple initiatives across the organization. This program is expected to deliver meaningful and sustainable savings over time. We will share a further details in due course. We are very pleased to see our backlog reach an all-time record of SAR 12.5 billion, representing 31% year-on-year growth. This reflects consistent demand for our services and the strength of our client relationships.
With this backlog, our average contract duration has increased to 3.3 years, and our book-to-bill ratio stands at 3.7 x. Utilization improved to 81.7% in quarter one 2026, supported by the reactivation of two- land and one- offshore rig in Saudi Arabia, as well as the start-up of our first international offshore rig in the GCC. However, due to the regional conditions affecting drilling operations in the Arabian Gulf, we expect lower utilization in the second quarter of 2026, driven by the temporary suspension of some offshore rigs. Moving to contract renewal in 2026. Last year was particularly active in terms of contract expiry. We achieved a 100% renewal success rate, securing all 24 rigs that were up for renewal. This was a key driver behind the sustained growth of our backlog.
Similarly, 2026 is expected to be another year for renewal. During quarter one, we announced several contract extensions, reducing the number of contracts due for renewal this year from 21 contracts-1 8 contracts. As of today, we expect to renew 18 contracts in 2026, of which 11 relate to the Gas LSTK tender, with results expected to be announced in the second quarter, 2026. In the meantime, our client has exercised a three-month extension option for these contracts, now extending their expiry to 31st of August 2026. The remaining contracts are progressing as planned, and we will provide further update in due course. I will now hand it over to Farid, who will walk you through the financial results in more details.
Thank you, Fahad. [Non-English content] and good afternoon, everyone. Starting with our quarter-on-quarter performance, revenue was broadly flat, down 0.2%, reflecting a SAR 7 million impact from conflict-related offshore suspension in late March, as well as the absence of a long rig move in Q4. This was largely offset by the resumption of two- land rigs and one- offshore rig in Saudi Arabia, together with the startup of offshore activity in the GCC during the quarter. EBITDA increased by 9.7% quarter-on-quarter to SAR 289 million, with margin at 35.2%. This was primarily driven by higher utilization supported by the restart of two- land and two- offshore rigs, as well as continued improvements in operational efficiency, particularly in rig move execution.
Net income returned to positive at SAR 7 million, compared to a net loss of SAR 34 million in Q4 2025, excluding the one-off impairment. This improvement reflects the stronger EBITDA performance combined with lower G&A and financing costs, supported by both internal cost actions and a more favorable interest rate environment. CapEx increased by 8%, mainly reflecting reactivation activities for rigs returning to operation during the quarter. Net debt decreased slightly, supported by scheduled loan repayments. Net debt to EBITDA remains stable at 2 x, while operating cash flow improved in line with EBITDA. Let's now turn to our year-on-year performance. Revenue was SAR 822 million, down 9.8% compared to Q1 last year.
This was primarily driven by the non-repeat of the exceptionally long and high-margin rig move activity in Q1 2025, with Q1 2026 reflecting a more normalized level of rig move activity. In addition, lower land rig utilization also contributed to the decline following suspensions that occurred during Q2 and Q3 last year. EBITDA was SAR 289 million, down 24.1% year-over-year. This decrease was mainly driven by the revenue dynamics just described. Importantly, the long rig move activity in Q1 2025 carried significantly higher margins, which explains the more pronounced decline in EBITDA. Net income was SAR 7 million, representing a 90.6% decrease year-over-year. Profitability remains modest at current activity levels. Nonetheless, we had some improvements during the quarter, supported by lower G&A, depreciation, and financing costs.
Looking at other key metrics, capital expenditures decreased by 39.6%, reflecting the absence of the significant unconventional rig investment made in Q1 2025. Net debt declined by 13.1% to SAR 2.4 billion, supported by a higher cash balance and scheduled bond repayments. Net debt to EBITDA increased slightly to 2 x, remaining broadly stable and within our target range. I will provide more detail on this later in the presentation. Operating cash flow declined by 22.3%, consistent with the movement in EBITDA. Let's now turn to our segment performance across land and offshore operations. Let's land side, comparing Q1 2026 with the prior quarter. Revenue remained broadly flat with a stable mix, while EBITDA margins improved from 32%- 35%, supported by higher utilization and operational efficiencies.
On a year-on-year basis, we see a shift in the mix, with land contribution declining from 72%- 67%, alongside an overall revenue reduction of around 10%. This, combined with the change in activity mix, resulted in lower EBITDA margins. The decline is primarily driven by the absence of the exceptional rig move activity seen in Q1 2025. As well as the impact of land rig suspensions during Q2 and Q3 2025. Just to mention, five of 10 currently idle land rigs were active in Q1 2025. These drivers are reflected in the segment level performance on the right-hand side of the slide. Land segment, quarter-on-quarter revenue declined by 4%, mainly due to lower rig move activity, partially offset by the startup of two rigs. Gross margin also softened, reflecting the absence of high-margin rig move activity seen in Q4.
Year- on- year, land revenue declined by 17%, driven by two key factors, the absence of exceptional rig move activity in Q1 2025 and additional rig suspensions, and out of contract rigs during Q2 and Q3. As a result, profitability declined in line with the lower activity levels. Looking at offshore segment, quarter- on- quarter revenue increased by 8%, supported by startup of two offshore rigs. This also drove a strong improvement in margins from around 20% to above 30%, additionally supported by the absence of the demobilization costs recorded in Q4 2025. Year- on- year, offshore revenue growth reflects higher utilization, including the contribution from the service vessels added in Q2 2025. Margins improved due to stronger activity levels and lower costs associated with idle offshore rigs, following the departure of the chartered rig in Q4 2025.
Let me bridge the movement in net income from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. Starting from adjusted net loss of SAR 35 million in Q4, we delivered net income of SAR 7 million in Q1, a SAR 42 million improvement quarter-on-quarter, despite the conflict impact. The bridge has three key drivers. First, we had a net SAR 13 million benefit from Q4 exceptionals, not repeating, mainly the absence of the offshore demobilization cost, partially offset by non-repeating the home rig move benefit recorded in Q4. Second, we saw SAR 11 million conflict-related headwinds reflecting lost revenue from offshore suspension towards the end of March and as well, higher war risk insurance costs driven by the regional situation. Finally, we delivered SAR 40 million of operational improvement driven primarily by rig startups and operational efficiencies, plus lower financing and G&A costs, partially offset by higher-than-planned maintenance.
Overall, underlying performance improved materially despite the conflict headwinds, returning us to positive net income in Q1. Let's now take a closer look at the key movements impacting our cash position this quarter. Cash on hand remained broadly stable at SAR 566 million, despite several planned outflows during the quarter. Working capital was a source of cash this quarter, primarily driven by an increase in payables, reflecting focus on DPO optimization, while we continue to maintain discipline on receivables. On capital allocation, CapEx was focused on rig reactivations alongside ongoing sustaining investments to support operational readiness. Importantly, operational cash efficiency continues to strengthen with a one-day reduction in DSO, translating into approximately SAR 10 million of working capital release and a cumulative approximately 20-day improvement year- on- year. Overall, liquidity remains stable and well managed, supported by disciplined working capital execution.
Let me now wrap up the financial section with a look at our debt profile. Net debt decreased quarter-over-quarter, primarily supported by scheduled loan amortization. On a year-over-year basis, net debt is down 13%, reflecting a combination of scheduled loan amortization alongside stronger cash levels. Importantly, leverage remains well controlled with net debt to EBITDA broadly stable at around 2% or 2 x. Overall, the balance sheet remains robust, providing continued financial flexibility to support operations, navigate near-term challenges, and fund planned growth. That concludes the financial update. I will now hand over back to Fahad.
Thank you, Farid. Let me now turn to our outlook for the second quarter of 2026. Due to the ongoing regional uncertainties, we currently expect revenue to be lower by up to 12%. This impact is driven by the temporary suspension of certain offshore rigs, as well as the delayed start of one offshore rig that had been planned for early April. As mentioned earlier, we view this as a temporary disruption and remain in close coordination with our clients. In the meantime, crews remain on standby, and rigs are positioned to allow for timely resumption of operation once activity restarts. At the same time, we are actively working to mitigate the impact of this disruption.
As outlined earlier, we have launched a company-wide cost optimization program. With initiatives spanning both structured cost measures and operational efficiencies, including rig move and maintenance activity, as well as the restructuring of selected internal services. This program is expected to support a more efficient cost base over time. On capital allocation, we have adjusted our CapEx guidance from SAR 750 million- SAR 700 million, ensuring alignment with the current activity outlook. Let me conclude with a few key points. We continue to see 2026 as a recovery year. The timing of a full offshore utilization is now expected to shift into the second half. We are confident in our ability to renew all contracts due to expire in 2026. Securing this renewal will be also an additional driver for improving utilization.
The cost optimization program is an important lever to enhance efficiency and strengthen our cost base over the long term. Operational excellence and safety remain at the core of everything we do, and we remain focused on delivering consistent performance for our clients. With that, we conclude today's presentation, and I will now hand it over to Michael to open the floor for questions. Thanks.
Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now be moving to the Q&A part of the call. If you are dialed in via the telephone, please press star two on your keypad. That is star two on your keypad, and wait for your name to be called. You may also ask a voice or a text question if you are dialed in via the web. Thank you. Our first question comes from Ms. Julia Forde from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
Thank you. Thank you for the presentation and for taking my questions. I have two, if I may. The first one, on the recently suspended rigs, do you have any updates on when contracts could be resumed? Secondly, given the revenue guidance for the second quarter, how do you expect margins to behave? Thank you.
I think, for the suspension, we don't have really clarity now in the event. Once we know really exactly when the rigs will be back to normal, we will announce this immediately. You have the second?
On the second question on the impact on margins from this offshore suspension, we typically don't provide specific guidance on EBITDA or, you know, margin levels. What we can say is that margins in the near term will continue to be influenced by activity levels, particularly due to this offshore utilization. We are taking actions now on cost optimization and operational efficiency. As activity normalizes, we would expect this to support the gradual recovery of our margins.
Perfect. Thank you.
Okay, thank you very much. Our next question comes from Mr. Alex Kurtz from JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the presentation and for the opportunity to ask some questions. I have two, and they're based around the land segment. The first one is why did the land segment gross margin decline quarter-over-quarter? The second is on land utilization. Do you think you can get back to 100% sometime in the near future?
Yeah. Actually, land margin pressured by lower rig move activity and 10 inactive rigs. Actually, this is one of the reasons why you can see it's dropped. Actually, our current focus as we speak on improving rig move efficiency, this will improve at optimizing the land rigs. We are expecting improvement in the margin because we can see improvement in the rig move as we speak, and this will come. Mainly really because of the 10 inactive rigs.
On the second question, it was, when we expect land utilization or offshore utilization to get to 100%. What was the question?
It is land.
Land utilization to get to 100%.
Land. As mentioned, we have right now 10 idle rigs, five suspended and five out of contract. Obviously, we are working hard on increasing the utilization. We expect some changes, you know, with the contract renewals during the year. We are not seeing a target of 100% achievable for this year. Historically, land, if you look for the last several years, the high utilization rate for land rigs was in the range of 90%-95%. That's what we are targeting.
Just to add to what Farid said, there is an ongoing tender and we are waiting for this, but nothing is confirmed yet.
Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much. Our next question comes from Ildar Khaziev from HSBC. Please go ahead, Sir. Your line is open.
Can't hear?
Ildar Khaziev, from HSBC, please go ahead. Your line is open in case you are muted. Thank you very much. We will come back shortly. We have a text question regarding debt. The Sukuk worth SAR 2 billion are due in February 2027. What is your plan for repayment?
Yes, indeed, we have five years Sukuk, which is reaching maturity in February 2027. Obviously our plan is to refinance it on a timely basis. We already have started working on this exercise for the last several months. We are in close engagement with multiple banks in Saudi Arabia. We expect to refinance it on time. Our objective is maintain our flexibility, with, you know, keeping a permanent debt, that will add flexibility for our working capital. Obviously, we'll use this opportunity to further reduce and optimize our interest costs.
Okay. Thank you very much. once again, opening the line for Mr. Ildar Khaziev from HSBC. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
Can you hear me? Hi.
Yes, we can hear you now.
Yes.
Please go ahead.
Thanks so much. Sorry for the issue previously. I have a very simple question about the interest income. You have about SAR .5 billion on the balance sheet. Why has the interest income been so small, like between SAR 2 million-SAR 3 million a quarter? I would expect that you know, that you would actually earn a bit more interest. What explains this? Am I missing something? Thank you.
Yeah. First of all, it's, we are using short-term investments, obviously, to make this interest income. Obviously, this, the priority is not that. Priority for us is to ensure operational flexibility. There is certain amount out of that number you just mentioned, SAR 500+ million. At least we need to maintain always flexibility for SAR 300 million, right? That is something that is used on a monthly basis, on a quarterly basis for payment of our salaries, our vendors, principal for the loans. That always we need to take into consideration. Excess over that amount we invest, obviously we invest in risk-free products, and we invest for short time.
It can be two weeks, one month, maximum two months. As a result of that, the interest income is, you know, represent that number what you just mentioned. At the same time, I can mention that year- to- date, April, interest income increased significantly if you compare to last year. As we are obviously focusing on that as well, maximizing our advantage on liquidity position.
I see. Thank you. My second question is about land rig segment. As far as I understand, Aramco is currently trying to minimize production from offshore fields and maximize production from onshore fields, given the, I think, quality issues in the pipeline. Are you seeing, are you observing any pickup in the land rig activity in general in Saudi Arabia? Is it happening like, you know, is the demand getting stronger there overall, if you look at the market?
We actually, we cannot know all Aramco plans as we speak. We know now they are in the tender for LSTK rigs. This will be a big tender for Gas LSTK. This is what is in the picture right now. I'm sure in Aramco they have plans.
How big is that tender? You said it's a gas tender, right?
Yes, it's Gas LSTK tender.
How many rigs are they tendering?
We don't have exactly the number really, but I think it's a big tender as we did not receive anything until now.
May I also ask, I mean, I think they have not been gas tenders for quite a while, I think since 2024, I believe. Is that correct? They have, you know, been.
Yeah, this is renew actually of Gas LSTK.
Oh, okay.
This is renew, not a new tender. It's a renew of a tender of gas LSTK rigs.
Oh, I see. Okay. Thank you so much.
Okay. Thank you very much. Our next question comes from Leo Currie from UBS. Please go ahead, Sir. Your line is open.
Hi, guys. Can you hear me?
Yes, please go ahead.
Please go ahead.
Hi there. Just maybe a broader question, but do you expect in the region a more active drilling program following the conflict resolution?
Until now, we did not have clear yet picture because we did not receive anything from the operating company as we speak. If there is anything in the future, we will announce it. For you partner to answer that.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you very much. Our next question comes from Abdessamad Raghibi from Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Yes. [Non-English content] Can you hear me?
Yes, Abdessamad. Yes, please go ahead.
All right. Okay. Thank you. Aside from the short-term noise, I have a question on the impact, the medium-term impact of unconventional on your land margin. We are hearing a lot about acceleration. I was just wondering what would be the incremental, either positive or negative on your land margin going forward as more unconventional flows into your numbers?
Sorry, just clarification. You are talking about the unconventional in particular?
Yes, just unconventional. As more unconventional is flowing into your operation, how should we think about the margin accretion on your land segment?
I think, as what we mentioned before, you know, there is a new improvement actually to and there is a lot of new initiatives to optimize the cost and improve the efficiency in the same time. This is definitely will improve our margin actually from unconventional and conventional in both sides. I think in unconventional because we have huge number of things in the unconventional, it will improve, but we cannot specify the number exactly. I think in the future, we will see some improvement from improvement in rig move in particular because we can see the trend of rig move now is improving by almost 20%- 30% compared to last year. This is will help us to create and improve the margin of that company.
Fair enough. Thank you.
Okay, thank you very much. We have a follow-up question from Ildar Khaziev from HSBC. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you again. I think I've seen in the financials, a comment about canceled sale, one of the rigs, I think. Can you, could you please sort of comment on, you know, what happened and whether you are engaged in any other conversations, and what's the pipeline like for these portfolio? Thank you.
Ildar, sorry, we couldn't hear exactly. What did you see in the financials?
Yes. I'm sorry. I've seen a comment in the financials stating that I think a sale of one of the older rigs was canceled. Yeah, could you please comment on what happened and whether you are engaged in any of the other conversations, what the pipeline looks like for the disposals? Thank you.
No, we have not changed our plans on selling offshore rig. That offshore rig. Okay, I understand what you mean. Basically with the first buyer, the deal didn't go ahead due to the regional situation because it was difficult in current situation to move rig outside of the Gulf, right? That is why the first buyer, they basically, we canceled the agreement with them, but there was some non-refundable deposit that was at stake, and we reported that. That is in Q1 results. That was the comment. We have not changed our plans on selling that offshore rig. At the moment, we are still looking at that. We are looking at other options and other buyers. We have a second buyer, so we're working on that.
Very clear. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much. We have a follow-up question from Mr. [Mohsen Alsaker]. Do you expect the cost of borrowing, the Sukuk, to be higher or lower compared to the first issuance?
Okay. We are planning for having that lower. Yeah, looks like, you know, this is quite doable. Yeah, we expect to reduce the cost going forward for Sukuk.
Okay. Thank you very much. Perhaps we'll give another reminder. Star two for any additional questions. That is star two. You may also ask a voice or a text question if you are dialed in via the web. We'll give another few minutes or so for any follow-up questions. Okay. It looks like there are no additional questions at this point. I'll be passing the line back to the management team for the concluding remarks.
No, just I want to thank everybody for the questions. [Non-English content], things will improve in the future, and we will have more discussions. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. This concludes today's conference call. We'll now be closing all the lines. Thank you and goodbye.