Trican Well Service (TSE:TCW) reported stronger fourth-quarter 2025 results than a year earlier, supported by slightly higher overall activity levels and the inclusion of a full quarter of results from the Iron Horse acquisition, executives said on the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call.
Financial results and cash flow
Chief Financial Officer Scott Stauth said revenue in Q4 2025 rose to CAD 322.7 million, up from CAD 275.5 million in Q4 2024. Adjusted EBITDA increased to CAD 73.4 million, or 23% of revenue, versus CAD 55.6 million, or 20%, in the prior-year quarter.
Trican posted net earnings of CAD 31.9 million, or CAD 0.15 per share on both a basic and fully diluted basis. Free cash flow totaled CAD 46.6 million, which management defined as EBITDAS less non-discretionary cash expenditures including maintenance capital, interest, current taxes, and cash-settled stock-based compensation.
Capital spending in the quarter was CAD 15.1 million, including approximately CAD 12.8 million of maintenance capital and CAD 2.8 million of upgrade capital. Stauth said upgrade spending was mainly dedicated to electrifying the company’s fourth set of ancillary frac support equipment.
Balance sheet and shareholder returns
Trican ended the quarter with positive non-cash working capital of CAD 179.2 million. As of Dec. 31, the company reported CAD 79.9 million of net debt, consisting of CAD 92.4 million of loans and borrowings offset by CAD 12.5 million of cash. Management said the debt level was primarily related to the Iron Horse acquisition and normal working capital and investing activity, and represented just under a third of a turn of leverage based on trailing twelve-month EBITDAS. Stauth added that a portion of this had already been “unwound” and the company expects net debt to trend downward through 2026.
Under its normal course issuer bid, Trican repurchased and canceled 1.4 million shares in Q4. For full-year 2025, the company repurchased and canceled 12.1 million shares at a weighted-average price of approximately CAD 4.4435, representing 6.4% of shares outstanding at the beginning of the year. After year-end, Trican repurchased and canceled an additional 300,000 shares, and management said it expects to remain active when market prices offer a favorable investment opportunity.
The board approved a dividend of CAD 0.0055 per share, representing about CAD 11.5 million in aggregate distributions. The dividend is scheduled for March 31, 2026, payable to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2026, and is designated as an eligible dividend for Canadian tax purposes.
Operating environment: pricing, weather, and activity mix
President and CEO Brad Fedora said Q4 performance was largely as expected, highlighting efforts to build a customer base that supports steadier utilization across the year. He noted the company experienced some pricing pressure in Q4, attributing it to less-busy competitors attempting to fill schedules, but said Trican’s long-term customer relationships have helped it manage periodic pressure.
Fedora said the company entered 2026 with improved natural gas pricing compared to the prior 18 months, while weather in Western Canada has been unusually warm and “choppy” for operations. Despite those conditions, he said Trican was having a good first quarter and expects Q1 to be “very much in line with consensus.”
He also described the company’s work mix as roughly 70% natural gas and 30% oil projects after the Iron Horse acquisition. Oil prices weakened following the acquisition and affected Iron Horse activity in Q4, but Fedora said oil moving back above roughly $65 per barrel was supportive for that division and could lead to a “more robust year” if prices hold.
Technology investments and division updates
Management repeatedly emphasized customer demand for efficiency and lower emissions, including fuel substitution from diesel to natural gas and electrification of on-site equipment. Fedora said Trican’s pumping assets and electric equipment are viewed as leading in this area and that the company is working with customers on longer-term technology roadmaps.
- Trican Frac: Fedora said the company has differentiated its deep fracking service with natural gas pumping assets and electric ancillary equipment, adding that it is the only provider in the basin offering a “full suite” of electric assets on location. He said demand for these electric assets exceeds supply, and described industry trends toward longer wells and higher sand volumes. He also noted rising customer-supplied sand, which Trican expects to partially offset through a growing logistics business.
- Natural gas fleet rollout: Fedora said Trican received its first 100% natural gas Caterpillar 3520 high-rate frac pumpers, with testing progressing well and field deployment expected in Q2. The company expects a 10-pumper spread operating by early fall. He also said Trican expects to receive its first natural gas semi-trucks later in the year and plans to gradually evolve its trucking fleet, acknowledging fueling station availability as a current constraint.
- Iron Horse Frac: Fedora said integration is going well and that the company has been “pleasantly surprised” by synergies in fuel, chemicals, and sand procurement. While oil prices affected volumes after the deal, he said the acquisition provides a leading position in parts of Eastern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Central Alberta, and could help expand Trican’s cementing presence in those regions.
- Cementing: Fedora said the cementing division continues to perform “extremely well,” with high market share in the Montney and Duvernay, and expansion into the SAGD market in the Christina Lake area. He said Q4 cementing revenue and jobs were up 33% versus Q4 2024 and highlighted technology initiatives including AI to reduce blending errors and development of a hybrid cementing unit.
- Coil: Fedora said the coil business has improved following a management reorganization about a year ago, adding that the division set horizontal and depth records last year and has broadened its customer base in the Montney and Duvernay.
Outlook: LNG-driven gas demand, pricing, and capital allocation
Fedora said the company remains “incredibly bullish” on Western Canada, citing the Montney and Duvernay plays and increasing LNG export capacity. In response to an analyst question, he said LNG exports help create a “floor” under Canadian natural gas pricing because the market is no longer solely North American, adding that customers also have sophisticated marketing plans that can include U.S. sales points.
On pricing, Fedora told analysts he expects pricing to be “fairly level here for a while” with an “upside bias” if commodity prices improve, noting that pricing dynamics differ between natural gas-focused and oil-focused regions and customer programs.
Management also discussed capital plans and the pace of equipment upgrades. In response to a question, Stauth said that for 2026, about half of the company’s capital program is expected to be expansion, referencing a CAD 120 million program split roughly 60/60 between expansion and other spending, with about CAD 40 million related to the natural gas fleet. He added the company does not view this as the start of a “massive rebuild” cycle.
On returns, Fedora reiterated a “diversified” approach combining dividends and buybacks and said the company would likely allocate around 50% of free cash flow to shareholder returns over the next few years, depending on opportunities. He also said Trican is evaluating additional acquisition opportunities across service lines, while maintaining a conservative balance sheet and willingness to use bank lines for attractive investments.
About Trican Well Service (TSE:TCW)
Trican Well Service Ltd is an equipment services company. It provides products, equipment, services, and technology for use in the drilling, completion, stimulation, and reworking of oil and gas wells primarily through its continuing pressure pumping operations in Canada. The company offers services related to coiled tubing, pipeline service, cementing, fracturing and reservoir solutions.
