Symbol: TXL

Stock Exchange: TSX

CALGARY, March 16, 2016 /CNW/ - Tesla Exploration Ltd. ("Tesla" or the "Company") today announces its 2015 annual and fourth quarter operating and financial results.

2015 Highlights

• Tesla Canada peaked at four crews and operated over 100,000 channels during the seasonally strong first quarter of 2015 on three-dimensional ("3D") and three-component ("3C") projects across the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Canadian operations utilized 23,000 stations (69,000 channels) of 3C recording equipment, including 13,000 stations (39,000 channels) owned by the Company.
  
  
• Tesla Canada also utilized 22,000 field station units ("FSUs") of the Company's multi-component wireless acquisition system ("Hawk") on numerous programs during the first quarter of 2015. Demand for the Hawk system remains strong and it was deployed on smaller projects throughout the year.
  
  
• Tesla USA completed a large 3D survey during the second and third quarters of 2015 using the Company's Hawk system. Tesla USA continues to support several microseismic monitoring projects in Texas and across the Northeast and Midwest United States.
  
  
• Tesla Offshore's Bluefin Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ("AUV") was tested and optimized during the first half of the year and returned to service in August and completed all of its backlog by the end of the year. The Company is aggressively marketing the system to new and existing clients both in the Gulf of Mexico and internationally.
  
  
• Tesla International completed a large 3D survey during the third quarter as well as several other projects throughout the year. The 14^th licencing round in the UK has provided many new opportunities for the UK crew in 2016 and Tesla continues to work with clients to overcome permitting challenges posed by landowners and government agencies.
  
  
• Tesla International completed a large two-dimensional ("2D") survey over the course of six months in Ethiopia during the year generating substantial cash flow. The crew then mobilized into the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC") for a large 2D survey for which recording is currently underway. Several additional projects in the region are currently under bid.
  
  
• In consideration of the significant decrease in commodity prices and ongoing challenges facing the seismic industry, Tesla continues to develop a plan to prudently manage its cost structure and retain key employees to remain financially and operationally successful long term. This includes reductions in overall general and administrative costs, including a 20% reduction in the Board of Directors' compensation during 2015. Employee compensation was reduced by 10% in 2015 and has been further reduced starting in March 2016. In addition, the Company will continue to seek to improve margins by identifying efficiencies in direct costs associated with improved application of its Hawk and AUV technologies.
  
  
• Tesla reduced capital spending significantly during 2015 in response to the continued low prices for commodities. Despite this Tesla continues to enjoy a very strong base of owned assets which can be deployed to service clients across the world.
  
  
• Tesla USA, Tesla Offshore and Tesla International have completed over three consecutive years without a Lost Time Injury (LTI). Globally, Tesla has a LTI frequency of 0.07 with over 5.7 million man hours recorded.
  
  
• Tesla incorporated Tesla Tunisia SARL ("Tesla Tunisia") as a new subsidiary in 2015 further expanding the Company's geographical footprint in the Mediterranean both offshore and onshore.
  
  
• Tesla has shifted its microseismic focus towards passive monitoring for measuring induced seismicity in response to the Subsurface Order No 2 implemented by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and similar changes from the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC). The detection and characterization of induced seismicity related to hydraulic fracturing is an emerging business line that provides the Company with growth opportunities given the current and pending governmental policies on reporting these induced seismic events.
  
  
• On January 7, 2016 Matco Investments Ltd ("Matco") acquired beneficial ownership and control of 349,731 common shares of Tesla as partial consideration for Matco providing a guarantee in the amount of $2.5 million, in favour of the Company's lender, which becomes operative in certain circumstances.
  
  
• Tesla continues to report as a going concern. The Company's renewed credit facility was signed on November 15, 2015 and expires on June 30, 2016. As a result the Company has presented all amounts drawn under this facility as current, except the long-term portion of finance leases which have fixed repayment terms. At December 31, 2015 the Company was in compliance with the covenant for its facility. Tesla had a working capital deficit of $37.2 million including total bank indebtedness of $32.7 million. More detail regarding the uncertainty around the appropriateness of the use of accounting principles applicable to a going concern can be found in Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. This information is also referenced in the Emphasis of Matter paragraph in the Auditor's report included in the audited consolidated financial statements.

Fourth Quarter Financial Results

The Company had negative Adjusted EBITDA of ($3.8) million (($0.17) per share) in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $5.1 million ($0.24 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2014. The decrease was due to limited operations in the quarter which led to lower revenues and margins. Margins were also hampered by predominantly mobilization revenues which achieved a lower margin percentage. This was slightly offset by lower general and administrative costs which resulted from restructuring of personnel in all divisions across the Company and other concerted cost cutting efforts.

The Company had consolidated net loss of ($15.3) million (($0.70) per share) in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to a consolidated net loss of ($2.4) million (($0.11) per share) in the fourth quarter of 2014. Excluding impairment of fixed assets, the net loss for the fourth quarter was ($11.3) million (($0.52) per share).

The Company's consolidated revenues including reimbursables decreased 45% to $15.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $27.1 million in 2014 due to lower activity levels across all divisions particularly Tesla Canada which benefited from previously secured projects during falling commodity prices at the end of 2014, and Tesla International which benefited from a contract termination settlement. Many clients continued to cut exploration budgets due to low commodity prices throughout 2015 and the poor outlook for commodity prices in 2016. Revenue excluding reimbursables also decreased 46% to $13.5 million from $24.8 million, also due to the decrease in operations across all divisions. Gross margin as a percentage of total revenue (including reimbursables) decreased to 10% from 36% due to a greater proportion of lower margin mobilization revenue being earned in the quarter. In addition, overall revenues were lower while the Company was unable to reduce its fixed direct overheads concurrently. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue excluding reimbursables also decreased to 11% from 39% also due to significantly lower revenues.

Tesla Canada's revenues continued their downward trend suffering from the cancellation or postponement of several programs resulting in a lower level of front end and acquisition activity compared to 2014. Tesla Canada operated one crew intermittently throughout the quarter peaking at two crews in December. These two crews continued into the first quarter of 2016 expanding to four crews in January and February. Revenues were also pressured lower as the Company was forced to price its services aggressively in order to maintain market share. Tesla Canada's gross margin decreased with the drop in operating revenues as well as lower prices. The Company did manage to maintain operations for its core legacy clients who continue to pursue exploration and development activities on a limited basis in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin ("WCSB").

Tesla USA continued to experience a very soft seismic acquisition market as it completed the tail end of a large 3D survey in Pennsylvania. There were no other major projects completed in the quarter resulting in a decrease in revenues and margin compared with the fourth quarter of 2014 which also experienced limited activity. A small crew was active in November and December on a microseismic monitoring project which carried into the first quarter of 2016. In December some of Tesla USA's Hawk equipment was redeployed to Canada for the winter season. The Company has been able to focus its operations on the utilization of this equipment reducing the Company's requirement for rental equipment which, in turn has resulted in better margins than otherwise would have been achieved.

Tesla International's revenues decreased significantly in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2014. The decrease was due to the fact that the Company's African crew spent most of the quarter mobilizing into the DRC generating limited revenues. The UK crew completed a small program in Ireland and stood down for the end of the quarter. This was in comparison to the completion of one large program in Ethiopia, and the continuation of two additional mobilizations in Ethiopia and Kenya in 2014. In addition, the UK crew completed two large programs. A third mobilization in the DRC was started during the fourth quarter of 2014 for a program that was postponed by the client. This resulted in a significant boost to revenue in the comparable period. Margins for the current quarter were greatly reduced due to the lack of costs associated with the contract termination settlement in the fourth quarter of 2014 as well as costs incurred for the African mobilization in 2015 for which most of the revenue was billed after year end when certain milestones where achieved. Margins were also reduced due to limited activity for the UK crew and the costs incurred to demobilize and stand down the crew at the end of the year.

Tesla Offshore's revenues were lower in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014 with a very soft market for both geophysical and construction projects. Poor weather conditions and outlook for commodity prices drove Tesla Offshore's clients to further reduce their budgets. Several projects were completed using both the Company's owned vessel and a contracted vessel. The Company's owned vessel completed several geophysical projects using the Company's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ("AUV"). Margins were hampered by low revenues and high fixed costs compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Company's working capital decreased $7.2 million during the quarter to ($37.2) million including net bank indebtedness of $32.7 million (cash-$2.4 million, operating lines of credit-$7.0 million and term facility-$28.0 million). A $0.7 million draw on the operating line of credit and a $4.0 million draw on long-term debt were used to fund operations, repay $1.6 million of regular finance leases. Additionally, the Company funded $0.1 million of capital expenditures during the quarter.

Total borrowings increased by $3.4 million during the quarter to $46.2 million. Draws on the operating facility of $0.7 million and the term facility of $4.0 million and the weakening of the Canadian dollar against US dollar denominated borrowings were partially offset by regular payments made on outstanding finance leases.

Shareholders' equity decreased $13.9 million to $11.2 million during the quarter due to the net loss incurred during the quarter. The net loss was partially offset by an increase in accumulated other comprehensive income due to the weakening of the Canadian dollar against the functional currency of the Company's US subsidiaries.

2015 Financial Results

Gross margin decreased 50% from $33.7 million in 2014 to $16.9 million in 2015 as revenues including reimbursables decreased 32% from $132.1 million to $89.6 million in 2015. The Company's revenues excluding reimbursables decreased 33% from $114.6 million in 2014 to $77.1 million in 2015. Tesla International's revenue was relatively flat while Tesla Canada, Tesla USA and Tesla Offshore all experienced declines in revenue. Gross margins decreased for all divisions as revenue decreased and margin percentages were adversely affected by the reduced activity as well as increased competition for limited available work. Gross margin as a percentage of total revenue (including reimbursables) decreased from 26% in 2014 to 19% in 2015. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue (excluding reimbursables) decreased from 29% to 22%. Tesla USA and Tesla Canada experienced significant pricing pressure due to an oversupply of seismic services and equipment in the market. Tesla International experienced several protracted mobilizations and project delays which led to reduced profitability on its large African projects. In addition, the UK crew experienced several prolonged periods of downtime. Tesla Offshore rectified the technical challenges experienced in 2014, which was the first year of operation for the Company's AUV, however the market for AUV services was significantly reduced as many deep-water and other offshore geophysical projects have been postponed until commodity prices improve.

Tesla Canada experienced reduced activity levels in 2015 compared to 2014 as many clients eliminated or reduced capital budgets for exploration activities. The focus for most clients  remained on core production with limited capital programs throughout the year. Several anticipated programs were deferred or cancelled in both the first and fourth quarters. The prices for seismic services softened compared to 2014 as well due to increased competition from an oversupply of seismic equipment.

Tesla USA experienced a reduction in revenue with limited activity throughout 2015. After its return from service in Canada during the winter, the 10,000 Field Station Unit ("FSU") Hawk system was most active in the third quarter, completing the 3D acquisition for a private exploration company. The rest of the year was spent intermittently working on microseismic monitoring programs. This was in contrast to the work that was completed under a term agreement for the first half of 2014 for a multi-client geophysical company. This agreement was not renewed in June 2014 due to lack of work commitments. Subsequently several smaller 2D and microseismic monitoring programs were completed in the second half of 2014. Throughout 2015 Tesla USA actively reduced its overhead and discretionary costs in an effort to minimize operational and net losses.

Tesla International's revenues were relatively flat in 2015 compared to 2014 however gross margin decreased in 2015. The margin percentage decreased due to lower margin mobilization activities making up most of the revenue in the first and fourth quarters. The UK crew was also forced to stand down for an extended stretch due to delays in permit and land title awards by the British government. 2014 included the settlement of the DRC contract suspension, and revenues from Africa for acquisition and reimbursables with several large programs as well as steady performance by one crew in the UK and Europe. Following a significant mobilization within Kenya during the fourth quarter of 2014, security concerns within the region caused the crew to be evacuated. This has resulted in a dispute with the client over amounts invoiced at December 31, 2014. Revenues in 2014 were also improved by the receipt of funds and reversal of a provision for a large mobilization that had taken place into Somaliland which came under dispute during 2013 but was settled in the second quarter of 2014. Due to the continued decrease in commodity prices and uncertain outlook for Tesla International, the division was restructured during the second half of 2015. In response to this the Company wrote off the $8.4 million balance of goodwill at September 30, 2015.

Tesla Offshore also saw a decrease in activity and revenue during the year. Geophysical revenues were much lower than expected due to the continued low commodity prices. The AUV was able to complete a number of projects throughout the year; however, it did not reach the expected utilization due to lack of available work. One charter geophysical vessel operated during the year while Tesla Offshore's dedicated geophysical vessel supported the AUV operations. Tesla Offshore has continued to experience a soft market for construction activity with reduced trawling, positioning and recurring special project work. For several years Tesla Offshore worked through a steady backlog of rig and other infrastructure positioning, monitoring and reclamation projects; however, these projects have become scarcer as exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico has matured and growth slowed.

The Company had negative Adjusted EBITDA of ($2.4) million (($0.11) per share) in 2015 compared to $11.7 million ($0.53 per share) in 2014. The decrease was due to the decreased margins experienced from operations in 2015.

The Company had a consolidated loss of ($51.6) million (($2.36) per share) in 2015 compared to net loss of ($11.5) million (($0.52) per share) in 2014. Excluding the impairment charges the consolidated loss in 2015 was ($39.1) million (($1.79) per share). The decrease is due to lower Adjusted EBITDA, higher finance costs resulting from higher outstanding operating line and term debt balances plus a higher interest rate, as well as increased provision for taxes and bad debts.

OUTLOOK

Despite many challenges facing Tesla at the current time, the Company maintains a positive outlook. Contracts are underway or under bid and the Company continues to pursue large projects with well-financed companies including major oil and gas operators particularly in East Africa and offshore around the world. Tesla continues to be optimistic that with the commitments of its clients, the return to service of its AUV and successful execution of programs in Africa during the year it can overcome the recent downturn in the North American land seismic market and improve on the results of 2015. The Company, through its strong customer relationships and operational performance, has managed to market itself effectively in new markets and improve its share of the diminished seismic market. In an effort to remain viable during lower activity levels Tesla has further reduced compensation and headcount across the Company as well as minimized capital expenditures and all discretionary spending.

North America Land Operations

Tesla Canada's operations for the first quarter of 2016 started off more profitably than in 2015 due to cost cutting efforts operationally and in relation to general and administrative expenses. Tesla Canada has also implemented more effective scheduling of programs to limit downtime and mobilization costs. Despite the reduced size of the seismic industry in total, Tesla has been able to maintain its key clients and increase its market share. The Company benefited from a large seismic program in January by one of its core clients that did not have any work scheduled in 2015. Visibility for the remainder of 2016 remains very limited due to the continued low West Texas Intermediate and Western Canadian Select benchmark oil prices. The seismic industry has seen many upstream producers further reduce exploration budgets and development projects as they focus on their own core areas where historical geophysical data is often already available. With fewer programs available for bid, many competitors have resorted to aggressive bidding to secure work. Weakness in the US and the merger of key players in the North American seismic market has also led to increased focus in the Canadian market. Competitors have increased the capacity of single component and 3C wireless equipment fueling the pricing pressure. Weakness in the Canadian Dollar vis-à-vis the US dollar should continue to make it difficult for US competitors to make inroads in Canada. Most oil and gas operators continue to emphasize low cost as the main differentiator in the bid process, reducing the effectiveness of Tesla's marketing efforts highlighting its operational and health, safety and environmental excellence. The Company hopes to weather this period and distinguish itself as the seismic contractor of choice throughout Canada. The Company remains well positioned to service demand with its 22,000 station FSU Hawk system in North America. Demand for seismic services in general continues to be much lower than historical levels and Tesla continues to find ways to minimize its costs and improve the flexibility of overheads. The Company continues to focus on developing efficiencies within its field crews in order to remain competitive in terms of pricing for the limited programs available and to create the most value possible from the work secured.

Tesla USA continues to face a weak seismic market with heavy competition for available projects as oil and gas companies prioritize production and development focused drilling, supplemented with the purchase of existing seismic data, as opposed to exploration and associated seismic activity to acquire new sub-surface data. Client budgets have been reallocated to enhance drilling and production operations which detrimentally affected scheduling of certain projects. This may be driven by a need to assess and consolidate current land positions with consideration given to moving into deeper resource horizons while releasing acreage that is considered uneconomical to develop. Additionally, anti-hydraulic fracturing groups have continued to find success in their attempts to delay passage of legislation acceptable to industry and stakeholders. Pricing of services continues to be the driving factor in this competitive market with requirements for higher channel counts, wireless recording systems and third-party multi-client programs driving the demand for services. Once again, this limits the effectiveness of Tesla's strong operational, client service, health safety and environmental performance as a marketing tool. In response to this, Tesla USA has continued to focus on minimizing its overhead costs. Activity levels remain focused on oil, dry gas and liquid rich shale plays such as the Bakken, Utica (eastern Ohio), Marcellus (western Pennsylvania and West Virginia), Eagleford (south Texas) and Denver-Julesburg ("DJ") Basin. Tesla USA has continued to work through a moderate backlog of small microseismic monitoring projects as it continues to bid on larger 3D surveys. Despite the success of Tesla USA in Pennsylvania during the third quarter of 2015, there are no significant projects currently signed. The Company has continued to reduce its personnel costs in the US Land operation.

Tesla has shifted its microseismic focus towards passive monitoring for measuring induced seismicity in response to the Subsurface Order No 2 implemented by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and similar changes from the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC). The detection and characterization of induced seismicity related to hydraulic fracturing is an emerging business line that provides the Company with growth opportunities given the current and pending governmental policies on reporting these induced seismic events.

South and Central America Operations

There were no operations in South or Central America during 2015 or 2014; however, Tesla has secured a project management roll in a survey in Trinidad for 2016, which will contribute to the Company's bottom line without utilizing the Company's owned assets. Tesla remains open to opportunities to expand its footprint in South and Central America. The Company has reduced its marketing and scouting budget due to the lack of success and is closing its office in Colombia in an effort to contain costs throughout the Company. Tesla will coordinate further marketing from Canada to maintain a presence in the region and will opportunistically continue to develop relationships with local and international operators and vendors as it awaits a political and economic environment that is conducive to pursuing projects more vigorously.

International Operations

Tesla International initiated a substantial mobilization into the DRC during the fourth quarter of 2015. Though progress was met with some delays with respect to securing camp and other infrastructure for the Company's crew in country, the mobilization was completed and acquisition initiated in February 2016. Acquisition continues and should be completed in April. Opportunities for work in the DRC and Uganda remain outstanding with historical clients of Tesla that would keep the crew in the region through the end of 2016.

Tesla International's UK/Europe crew continues to enjoy an extremely high share of the UK/Europe seismic acquisition market. The recent release of the fourteenth licencing round in the UK has given some indications that several significant projects will take place starting as early as the third quarter of 2016. Receipt of permits has continued to cause some delays in the commencement of these projects; however, the Company continues to use its resources and expertise to assist its clients in securing approval for these projects.

Offshore Operations

Due to the sustained decline in domestic oil and gas industry activity, Tesla Offshore has continued the expansion of service offerings to international projects. Both conventional geophysical projects, as well as operations centered around the Company's Bluefin 21 AUV, are being proposed in multiple areas within Mexico, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Additionally, Tesla Offshore continues to pursue opportunities with long-term engineering companies and other clients who are also pursuing work outside the Gulf of Mexico. Tesla Offshore continues to configure systems and staff to profitably provide services to support these expansions of our repeat customers. As the end of the seasonal adverse winter weather approaches, the Company is remobilizing its dedicated geophysical vessels for a combination of AUV and conventional sensor suite operations. Central and Western Gulf of Mexico lease sales continue at lower interest levels, but Tesla Offshore hopes to remain active with the AUV and a charter geophysical vessel through much of the summer. The Company's goal is to be prepared when the oil prices normalize and activity levels improve in the Gulf of Mexico.

Construction activities, after remaining lower than historical levels due to reductions in drilling activities in the Gulf of Mexico, are slowly ramping back up to moderate utilization levels. Overall, the construction division is expected to continue to experience reduced activity levels, but Tesla Offshore fully expects to capture a consistent share of the available opportunities.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this press release, including management's assessment of the Company's future plans and operations, contains forward-looking statements, which are based on the Company's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs, which may prove to be incorrect. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "intends", "continues", "estimates", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "should", "might", "plans" and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, the risks outlined in the "Business Risks" section of the Company's MD&A for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

The information contained in this press release should not be considered all-inclusive as it excludes changes that may occur in general economic, political and environmental conditions. The Company cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and, subject to its obligations under applicable law, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements if conditions or opinions should change.

About Tesla

Tesla provides seismic land data acquisition in a multitude of environments in Canada through Tesla Exploration Partnership ("Tesla Canada"), in the U.S.A. through Tesla Exploration Inc. ("Tesla USA"), in South America through Tesla Exploration Trinidad Ltd. ("Tesla Trinidad") Tesla Exploration Colombia S.A.S. ("Tesla Colombia") and Tesla Do Brasil Geotecnia Ltda. ("Tesla Brazil"), which was incorporated in 2014 to explore offshore opportunities off the coast of Brazil. Tesla serves other markets in Europe and Africa mainly through Tesla Exploration International Limited ("Tesla International") and Tesla Exploration Tunisia SARL ("Tesla Tunisia"). Tesla also has an international data processing office in the UK. Tesla Offshore LLC ("Tesla Offshore") operates geophysical hazard surveys and provides positioning services for construction and diving operations in the Gulf of Mexico and internationally using its own vessel and other chartered vessels.

Since the Company's inception in 2000, Tesla has grown both organically and through acquisitions funded by retained earnings and prudent levels of borrowing, from a Canadian focused land seismic business to a global provider of a broad suite of geophysical and related services. Tesla trades on the TSX under the symbol "TXL".

SOURCE Tesla Exploration Ltd.