The demand for Gemini’s services continued to improve as the quarter progressed and was significantly better than the second quarter. Revenue gains were strongest for maintenance and fabrication services, which was anticipated based on the increase in demand for engineering that began in late 2010. In the third quarter, all lines of business performed closer to capacity, however, we must remain focused on improving our backlog and operational efficiency. The cost of labour and the related costs for securing the required labour have impacted margins. We anticipate this situation to continue due to the strong demand for personnel generated by the high level of activity in most of our target markets.
Amid the rising concerns over the weakening global economic health, demand for services generally remained strong in the third quarter. Several producers began raising their 2011 capital budgets, and in some instances more than once. 2011 capital budgets have been focused on Oilsands projects, crude oil drilling and liquid-rich gas plays. The increase in activity is supporting our efforts to continually improve engineering services backlog.
Land sales continue to be strong in western Canada, and Alberta sales are very close to the all time calendar year record set in 2006. Drilling activity is high, however, it is unclear how producers may react to the potential slowdown in energy demand driven by the European financial challenges and their impact upon the global economic recovery.
The demand for field services is anticipated to be strong in the fourth quarter, but will continue to remain highly competitive. Our business model is to pursue small sustaining capital projects with existing clients, rather than large field construction projects, however, strategically we will focus on clients that have a high potential to utilize multiple services in an effort to increase capital efficiency.
We continue to implement changes to improve our business development in the pursuit of building backlog with existing and new clients. Our client relationship business development model has been successful in all our lines of business as clients are facing constraints in executing projects. The business development model, in combination with the improvements in our systems and processes to deliver fit-for-purpose project solutions, aligns with many of our client’s needs.
The high level of activity in our target markets has significantly increased the demand for technical personnel. Gemini has entered into a strategic alliance with a US-based engineering firm, Anvil Corporation, which provides the opportunity to access skilled resources that are located outside Alberta’s challenging labour market. In addition, Anvil Corporation has a long history (40 years) of providing quality engineering services to an array of clients in various industry sectors that are complementary to those serviced by Gemini. The alliance significantly increases the resource capacity to grow Gemini by pursuing larger, longer-term projects and projects that utilize Anvil’s complementary technical capabilities.
Project backlogs have returned to more reasonable levels across the business. Activity levels in our field services sector continue to increase; however, the availability of craft labour has decreased significantly. In addition to the labour constraint, the field services industry continues to be highly competitive as capacity dwindles. We will focus on the execution of small projects that we believe we can secure and successfully deliver for our key clients.
Current industry forecasts call for continued increases in drilling activity, which supports demand for our engineering and field services for the foreseeable future. For 2012 in particular, those forecasts appear to be mixed due to global economic uncertainty weighing on commodity prices. We will continue to improve our operations and organically grow by strengthening our client relationships. Gemini’s success is attributable to our talented personnel, and we are thankful for their efforts and commitment.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Doug Lautermilch, President and Chief Executive Officer