Risky Time To Buy These 2 Service Stocks

Article Excerpt

MAJOR DRILLING. $50.73 (Toronto symbol MDI; SI Rating: Speculative) (www.majordrilling.com; 1-866-264- 3986; Shares outstanding: 23.7 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion) is one of the world’s largest drilling service companies serving the mining industry. In the three months ended April 30, 2008, Major Drilling’s revenues rose 34.1%, to a record $170 million from $129 million. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 42.1%, to a record $25.3 million or $1.07 a share, from $17.8 million or $0.77 a share. Cash flow rose 40.5%, to $35.3 million or $1.49 a share from $25.1 million or $0.86 a share. Major Drilling holds cash of $15.7 million or $1.08 a share. Long-term debt is low at $28.3 million. In the latest quarter, strong demand for drilling rigs, especially for gold projects, boosted results. About half of revenues come from gold drilling. South and Central American revenues rose 47%, to $60.4 million from $41.1 million, despite a slowdown in Ecuador and Venezuela late in the quarter. The strong Canadian dollar…