Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ: DWSN) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.01), $0.24 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.25). Revenue for the quarter came in at $51.16 million versus the consensus estimate of $38.05 million.

Stephen C. Jumper, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "First quarter results were primarily a result of increased utilization of active recording channels in the U.S. and a better than anticipated late winter season in Canada. While the overall crew count in the U.S. was down from recent quarters, channel utilization peaked with a project in West Texas that included a peak of 48,000 channels. The project in West Texas, which was started and completed during the first quarter, combined with a 34,000 channel project in Eastern New Mexico completed in the second quarter, represents a peak of 82,000 channels and 42 vibrator energy source units over two crews that generated approximately 1.4 petabytes of field recorded data and approximately 157 terabytes of output high density, high resolution 3D seismic data. The large channel project in West Texas is the largest seismic project completed by the Company to date in the U.S. as measured by the number of single channel recording units and number of energy sources in operation. It also represents an approximate fifteen times increase in data density and volume, as well as the average number of data source points acquired per day, compared to our typical projects. While such data acquisition projects are currently not typical projects for the Company in the U.S., there continues to be a growing trend toward larger more complex projects; projects that require an increase in channel count, energy source units and data management capabilities."

Jumper continued, "During the first quarter in Canada, we successfully completed a high density 3D multi-component project requiring 32,000 three channel multi-component seismic data recording units or 96,000 channels. This project was performed utilizing smaller mini vibrator energy source units and generated approximately 1.6 petabytes of field recorded data and 60.5 terabytes of output high density, high resolution seismic data. With these high channel count projects in the U.S. and Canada, data gathering and throughput were equally as impressive as the seismic equipment requirements. In the sixty-seven year history of Dawson Geophysical, no projects have demanded such unprecedented heights of seismic equipment, technical expertise, and enormous data handling requirements that may be signaling an evolution in seismic programs. To put this data volume metric into context, one petabyte is approximately equal to over 3.4 years of continuous full HD video recordings. We were recently awarded a project in the Midland Basin in the third or fourth quarter which could require up to 44,000 three channel multi-component seismic data recording units or 132,000 channels with approximately 12 vibrator energy source units."

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