Canadian mineral driller Major Drilling Group International says continuing softness in North American exploration activity in the 12 months to April 30 this year would have seen its fiscal 2024-2025 revenues contract if not for the addition of Peru’s Explomin in November.
Major said its full-year revenues were 7% lower year-on-year at C$657 million without Explomin; up 3% yoy at $727.6 million with the South American business. Toronto-listed Major agreed to pay up to US$85 million for Explomin and its 92 drilling rigs.
It said Canada-US revenues fell 20% yoy to C$274.4 million in its FY25 as a lack of junior financing and project delays curbed exploration in the region. South and Central American revenue grew by 40% to $262.3 million, bolstered by Explomin and copper exploration in Chile.
Australasian and African revenue rose 9% yoy to $190.9 million.
A highly competitive North American drilling market also negatively impacted margins. Major said its 17.9% FY25 gross margin compared with 21.6% in FY24. Net earnings for FY25 were less than half the previous year at $26 million.
CEO Denis Larocque said: “Looking ahead, given the sharp ramp-up in activity we experienced at the end of the fiscal year, we expect fiscal 2026 Q1 revenue to grow by approximately 20% relative to fiscal 2025 Q4 levels. With a year-over-year increase in exploration budgets outlined by several senior mining companies, combined with a slower start to the exploration season, this points to a promising outlook for the balance of the year.
“In contrast, junior miners continue to face challenges in securing funding, which seems to be improving as the year progresses, albeit at a slow pace. The growing demand for our services puts us in an optimal position for the upcoming year as gold prices have reached record highs while copper prices remain resilient, further reinforcing a positive outlook for the sector.”
Larocque said global non-ferrous mineral exploration spending at US$12.5 billion in 2024 was about 60% of the non-inflation-adjusted $21.5 billion peak in 2012.
“The mining industry remains in the discovery phase and will need to undergo an intensive, multi-year exploration and infill drilling period to develop new mines and address the projected supply gaps in various commodities,” he said.
“Many of these new mineral deposits will be in challenging, hard-to-reach areas, necessitating complex drilling solutions and increasing the demand for Major Drilling’s specialised services.”
Major, which had a fleet of 708 rigs at the end of April, is budgeting for C$70 million of capital spending in FY2026, “including further investments to equip our rigs with the latest technology”.
Major’s share price is up about 12% in the past month, capitalising the company at circa-$757 million.
