Mitcham Industries Inc Q4 2015 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Hey, good morning, guys.

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Rob, I thought first maybe we would touch on Seamap -- was nicely surprised to hear about the backlog there. Obviously, we will see that order in Q1 that got postponed; just wanted to see if you could talk about the timing of the remaining backlog? Do you see considerable risk to this? And do you typically have a little more visibility on when those might land on a quarterly basis?

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Okay. Good to hear. Then, on the margin front, obviously the quarter was nicely back into the low/mid-50%s -- sounds like that was largely product mix-driven on the aftermarket side, but any reason to think that that margin profile gets pressured, even in this environment, as we work through 2016? It didn't seem that way, but just wanted to check with you on that.

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Okay. Great. And then, on the equipment leasing side, obviously seeing some tougher times in North America and Latin America, but you did mention the pockets of opportunity -- Europe, North Africa, Middle East, as well. Just wanted to get your general sense on -- with customers you are talking to there, general direction of duration and size of the projects that may be out there, and also just if the preference towards wireless versus cable based has changed in this environment either?

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Okay. Great. Last one for me, and then I will re-queue. Obviously, some positive moves on the debt reduction side, intra-quarter. I believe you had mentioned expectations at least for free cash flow-positive situation in 2016. Is that still the case? I didn't know if I missed that on this call or in the press release?

Question: Georg Venturatos - Johnson Rice & Company - Analyst : Great. Thanks a lot, guys.

Question: Veny Aleksandrov - FIG Partners, LLC - Analyst : Good morning, guys.

Question: Veny Aleksandrov - FIG Partners, LLC - Analyst : My first question is on the European [contract] that just started, and you said it is going to benefit the rest of 2016. Do you have any pricing pressure over there, or pricing pressure is Russia-specific?

Question: Veny Aleksandrov - FIG Partners, LLC - Analyst : Great. And in terms of Russia, again, because your contracts were in US dollar, of course, there was an exchange rate problem. Is there any change, or you are going to be continuing to offering your products in Russia, though, and just take the exchange rate?

Question: Veny Aleksandrov - FIG Partners, LLC - Analyst : Perfect. One last question, because somehow I missed it: The Seamap delivery -- did you say it's going to benefit Q1 2016?

Question: Veny Aleksandrov - FIG Partners, LLC - Analyst : Thank you. Thank you so much.

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : Good morning, gentlemen.

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : Can you give us a sense of that decline on the lease pool depreciation, given we are going to have a dramatically less additions throughout the year. Just give us a sense of how far that is going to fall off?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : It does. Also, on the Seamap with the backlog, are a lot of those placements on newbuilds that gives you that certainty that they will be put into service versus upgrade of existing seismic ships? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. APRIL 08, 2015 / 1:00PM, MIND.OQ - Q4 2015 Mitcham Industries Inc Earnings Call

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : And that $7.7 million, that is for deliveries in FY16, correct?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : Okay. Do we have a backlog that extends further, because we know the newbuild schedule?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : Okay. You always sound a little surprised that you are seeing as much activity as you are in the marine side with drivers in China. Can you expound on what exactly those drivers are that is causing that increased activity from that region?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : In South America, given the problems with the Colombian peso and the real, and the political unrest in Peru as they figure out their regulations, is it almost as if we are taking a year off from Latin American activity, that we go back to where we were a couple of years ago?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : We are about a year removed from PEMEX trying to incentivize larger players coming in and helping develop the Mexican marketplace, especially offshore. Any activities or anything you can add to the activities in that market, given its close proximity?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : Okay. Could you see, in the future, Mexico being similar to Canada, or maybe something smaller like Alaska, as they develop that marketplace?

Question: Tyson Bauer - KC Capital - Analyst : All right. Thank you, gentlemen.