12:00 PM EST - Precision Drilling Trust : which is Canada's largest oilfield services provider, reported that it is cutting its distribution to investors by 31.5 per cent. Precision said Friday its May distribution will be 13 cents per unit, down from 19 cents. This "reflects low equipment utilization levels, on a seasonally adjusted basis, for Precision's operations in Canada and an increasingly competitive pricing environment." The reduction in oil and gas industry activity reported in the first quarter "has become more entrenched during the second quarter due to weather conditions and a further weakening in customer demand," the trust stated. "This weakening in demand is consistent with the large decline in the number of government licences issued for new natural gas wells in the Western Canada sedimentary basin over the past two months." Friday's announcement came 10 days after Precision chairman Hank Swartout announced his decision to retire later this year, and nine days after the trust's annual meeting. Precision - which slashed its monthly payout from 31 cents in January - reported April 30 that it suffered a 29 per cent decline in first-quarter net earnings to $158 million, or $1.26 per unit, as revenue fell 23 per cent from a year earlier to $411 million. Precision Drilling Trust
units PD.UN:CA are trading down one dollar forty nine cents at $28.63.
