UPDATE 1-Drillers Patterson-UTI, Precision gain from high-tech rig demand

(Adds details, background, shares)
July 23 (Reuters) - Two North American land drilling-rig
operators - Patterson-UTI Energy Inc PTEN.O and Precision
Drilling Corp PD.TO PDS.N - issued positive outlooks on
Thursday, highlighting the competitive advantage of drillers
using newer, high-tech rigs.
Snyder, Texas-based Patterson-UTI said its margins were
improving and its U.S. rig count was stabilizing, while
Calgary-based Precision Drilling said it expected its market
share to improve due to demand for high-tech rigs.
Modern, faster rigs are cheaper to run and drill more
efficiently than the older rigs still used by many drillers.
That makes them a must-have for oil and gas companies trying
to rein in spending in the face of weak oil prices. Crude oil
prices have more than halved since June last year.
Cost-cutting is also helping the drilling companies protect
their margins. Precision Drilling said in April it had 2,200
fewer employees than at the end of 2014.
"Although we have no visibility into a recovery at this
time, we believe that our rig count appears to be stabilizing,"
Patterson-UTI Chief Executive Andy Hendricks said in a statement
accompanying the company's second-quarter results.
Ongoing cost-cutting efforts in the company's contract
drilling business, especially in the pressure pumping unit, have
resulted in better-than-expected margins, he said.
Patterson-UTI, which had an average 122 rigs in operation in
the United states in the quarter, said it expected the average
rig count in July to be consistent with the second-quarter U.S.
exit rate of 110.
Patterson-UTI's revenue fell nearly 38 percent to $472.8
million in the three months ended June 30. The company reported
a net loss of about 13 cents per share, compared with a
year-earlier profit of 37 cents per share. ID:nPn4WgBkw
Precision Drilling posted a loss of 10 Canadian cents per
share, compared with the loss of 2 cents per share it reported
in the second quarter of 2014. ID:nCCN2CL8WW
Revenue fell nearly 30 percent to C$334.5 million.
Patterson-UTI shares closed at $16.70 on Wednesday on the
Nasdaq, while Precision Drilling closed at C$6.71 in Toronto.
Both stocks have more than halved in value in the past year.