Helmerich and Payne Inc (HP)

[Timothy Smith]

$HP CEO John Lindsay didn't mince words while giving the future outlook. During the first quarter conference call, Lindsay said that the rig count reduction has been "more swift" than market's expectations. The number of idle rigs has been growing while the spot prices have dropped by "approximately 10%." In the previous cycle, the spot prices dropped by around 30%. Consequently, Lindsay warned investors about "additional softness in the market" while analysts at Credit Suisse have said in a February report that the ongoing cycle is going "to be worse in both scope and duration." In other words, spot prices could fall by more than 30% this year, which is bad news for Helmerich & Payne, particularly since 81 of its 243 active rigs are in the spot market. "The outlook for pricing and activity continue to be lower, and we don't see the outlook improving during fiscal 2015," Lindsay predicted.