07:46 AM EDT, 04/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Precision Drilling ( PDS ) on Thursday reported a 62% drop in first-quarter net earnings.

Net earnings for the three months ended March 31 dropped to $36.5 million from $95.8 million in the same quarter last year. Net earnings per diluted share fell 55% to $2.53 from $5.57 in the year-ago quarter. The result missed the S&P Capital IQ consensus normalized EPS estimate of $2.64 for the quarter.

First-quarter revenue came in at $527.8 million, a decrease of 5.5% from $558.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA also fell 30% to $143.1 million from $203.2 million.

The company said it remains on track to reduce debt by between $150 million and $200 million and return between 25% and 35% of free cash flow to shareholders in 2024.

Precision expects customer demand to increase with the start-up of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and increased regulatory spending requirements for well abandonments. The company continues to look for opportunities to lower costs.