Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Orbit Garant Drilling's fiscal 2024 First Quarter Results conference call and webcast. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following management's remarks, we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. Please be aware that certain information discussed today may be forward-looking and that actual results could differ materially. Certain non-IFRS financial measures will also be discussed. Please refer to the company's SEDAR filings for additional information on both risk factors and non-IFRS measures. This call is being recorded on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Pierre Alexandre, President and CEO of Orbit Garant. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you, Lara, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. With me on the call is Daniel Maheu, CFO. Following my opening remarks, Daniel will review our financial results in greater detail, and I will conclude with comments on our outlook. We will then welcome questions. The decline in revenue and profitability in the quarter reflect a temporary suspension of drilling projects in Quebec during July, due to the forest fires, as well as customer decision to temporarily suspend and reduce drilling activity on certain other projects in Canada during the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. All the projects that were impacted by forest fire were back at full operation by July 26, and we are gradually resuming operation on projects that were suspended and are reduced due to customers' decision. Two of these projects have already resumed. One was restarted in mid-August and the other in early September.
We expect to restart operations on the others by January 2024. We are pleased to report that we recently renewed a large specialized drilling contract in Canada with a senior gold mining customer for a three year term. This will result in the continued operation of 15-20 of our surface and underground drill rigs on the customer's project site for the term of the contract. The contract renewal is in line with our strategy to focus on our projects with senior and well-financed intermediate gold mining customers in Canada. Prices for gold and copper remain favorable to support mineral exploration and development spending in our markets. Customer demand remains strong in Canada and we are seeing increase in demand in Chile. I will now turn the call over to Daniel to review our results for the quarter. Daniel?
Thank you, Pierre, and good morning, everyone. Revenue for the quarter totaled $ 44.3 million, a decrease of 16.8% compared to Q1 a year ago. Canada revenue was $ 33 million, a decline of 23% compared to Q1 last year. Approximately $ 2 million of the decline is attributable to the suspension of our drilling project in Quebec during the month of July due to forest fires. The remaining year-over-year decline was primarily attributable to customer decision to temporarily suspend or reduce drilling activity on certain projects during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. International revenue increased by 8.7% to $ 11.3 million from $ 10.5 million in Q1 last year, reflecting increased drilling activity in Chile and Guinea, partially offset by a reduction of drilling activity in Guyana and Burkina Faso.
The reduction in Burkina Faso is expected as we are now winding down operation there and expect to complete our final drilling contract there by the end of this fiscal quarter. Gross profit for the quarter was $ 4.1 million, or 9.4% of revenue, compared to $ 6.2 million, or 11.7% of revenue in Q1 last year. Adjusted gross margin, excluding depreciation expenses, was 15.2%, compared to 16.3% last year. The decline in gross profit, gross margin, and adjusted gross margin was primarily attributable to our revenue reduction in Canada due to the project suspension, as discussed previously, and the additional costs we incurred as we ramp project back up. The decline was partially offset by increased drilling revenue in Chile and Guinea. General and administration, administrative expenses were $ 4 million, com...
or 8.9% of revenue in the quarter, compared to $ 3.9 million or 7.3% of revenue in Q1 last year. EBITDA was $ 3 million compared to $ 5.8 million in Q1 a year ago. The decrease reflects the reduction of drilling activity in Canada due to forest fire and project suspension, as discussed above, and the additional cost incurred to ramp project back up and a reduction in foreign exchange gains, partially offset by increased drilling activity in Chile and Guinea. Our net loss for the quarter was $ 0.4 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to net earnings of $ 1.1 million, or $0.03 per share in Q1 last year.
Our net loss in Q1 this year reflects the reduction of drilling activity in Canada due to the forest fires and project suspensions, and the related additional costs incurred to ramp up projects back up and a reduction in foreign exchange gain, partially offset by $ 0.2 million income tax recovery in the quarter and increased drilling activity in Chile and Guinea. Now, turning to our balance sheet. Earlier this month, on November 2, we entered into a fifth amended and restated credit agreement with our senior lender, National Bank of Canada, in respect of our credit facility. The credit facility consists of a $ 30 million revolving facility and a $5 million revolving facility guaranteed by Export Development Canada. The credit facility expires now on November 2, 2026.
We borrowed an additional amount of $ 2.7 million from the credit facility in Q1 this year, compared to a repayment of $ 7 million in Q1 a year ago. Our long-term debt under the credit facility, including the $2 million draw from the EDC facility and the current portion, was $ 24.9 million at quarter end, compared to $ 22.2 million as at June 30, 2023, our fiscal year end. At quarter end, our working capital totaled $ 51.8 million, compared to $ 50.4 million as at June 30, 2023. I will now turn the call back to Pierre for closing comments. Pierre?
Thanks, Daniel. Despite the temporary drilling project suspension and ensuing project ramp-ups that impact our results for the quarter, we remain positive on our longer-term outlook. As I noted earlier, customer demand, particularly in Canada, remains strong from both senior and intermediate customers, which is our primary focus right now. Demand from juniors remains soft, reflecting the current difficult environment for juniors accessing capital. We are experiencing growth in our drilling activities in Chile and Guinea. Our pending exit from Burkina Faso will allow us to focus more on these markets and customers. The underlying fundamentals driving our business are solid. Gold prices remain at historically strong levels. Gold producers are generating strong margins at this price while struggling to replace their reserves. We are confident that continued strong level of exploration and development spending will be maintained in this industry in the foreseeable future.
We generate approximately two-thirds of our revenue from gold and gold-related drilling, so we have high exposure to this sector. Copper prices have also remained at elevated levels over the past 12 months, despite rising interest rates and economic uncertainty. Copper is needed for the ongoing electrification of the global economy, which is expected to drive strong demand for years to come. A healthy copper market is positive for our Chilean operations. Looking ahead, we remain focused on our five-point plan, which consists of primarily focusing on Canadian gold drilling operations, prioritizing longer-term specialized drilling contracts with major and intermediate customers, pursuing international contracts that offer attractive returns, continued investment in driller training and computerized drilling technology, and building a team-oriented leadership structure that fosters collaboration and personal accountability. By continuing to execute on this plan, we believe we can drive growth and build value for our shareholders.
That concludes our formal remarks this morning. We will now welcome any question. Operator, please begin the question period.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. Should you have a question, please press star followed by the number one on your touch-tone phone. Again, that's star followed by the number one. You will hear a three tone prompt acknowledging your request. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the number two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift your handset before pressing any keys. One moment, please, as we poll for questions. Just a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, should you have a question, please press star followed by the number one on your touch-tone phone. There seems to be no questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Alexandre for final closing comments.
Thank you, everyone, for participating today. We look forward to speaking with you again next quarter end. Have a good week. Thank you.
Thank you, presenters. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a lovely day.