The Company's sales are directly related to the level of worldwide oil and gas exploration activities and the profitability and cash flows of oil and gas companies and seismic contractors, which in turn are affected by expectations regarding the supply and demand for oil and natural gas, energy prices and finding and development costs. The Company believes that during the latter half of 1998, the exploration and production companies anticipated an extended period of low oil and gas prices and began to reduce their intended levels of expenditures for seismic data. Over the last twelve months, the seismic industry has begun to recover from the depressed levels of activity in prior years. The Company leases and sells seismic data acquisition equipment primarily to seismic data acquisition companies and oil and gas companies conducting land and transition zone seismic surveys worldwide. The Company provides short-term leasing of seismic equipment to meet a customer's requirements and offers maintenance and support during the lease term.
Seismic equipment held for lease is carried at cost, net of accumulated depreciation.
There is some seasonality to the Company's expected lease revenues, especially from customers operating in Canada, where a significant percentage of seismic survey activity occurs in the winter months, from October through March. During the months in which the weather is warmer, certain areas are not accessible to trucks, earth vibrators and other equipment because of the unstable terrain. This seasonal leasing activity by the Company's Canadian customers has historically resulted in increased lease revenues in the Company's first and fourth fiscal quarters. However, due to the significant decrease in world oil prices in 1998, demand for the Company's services both in Canada and worldwide declined dramatically in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 and remained at historically low levels throughout fiscal 2000, but began to improve during fiscal 2001. Gross margins on equipment sales may vary significantly between periods due to the mix of new versus older equipment being sold.