Ion Geophysical Corporation (NYSE:IO)

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Revenues of $42.7 million in the fourth quarter 2019 compared to fourth quarter revenues of $74.6 million one year ago.  
  
• ION's net loss for the fourth quarter 2019 was $14.5 million, or a loss of $1.02 per share, compared to a net loss of $19.3 million, or a loss of $1.38 per share in the fourth quarter 2018.  
  

Excluding special items in both periods, the Company reported an Adjusted net loss of $5.7 million, or a loss of $0.40 per share, compared to an Adjusted net income of $15.3 million, or $1.07 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2018.  A reconciliation of special items to the reported financial results can be found in the tables of this press release.

Chris Usher, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our fourth quarter financial results were quite disappointing, primarily because we were not able to launch multiple new acquisition multi-client programs and close several data library deals in our pipeline.  As a result, our full year results were down slightly, rather than the upward trajectory we had been building towards for 2019, with timing of fourth quarter multi-client deals countering the annual improvements in all our other businesses.  Tighter E&P budgetary controls and lower oil prices subdued year-end spending such that several material deals, on the order of tens of millions of dollars, were not completed prior to year-end. 

"We are focused on fundamentals and working areas we directly control.  We reorganized the business in two ways to improve our execution and accountability; we restructured our E&P Technology & Services segment to reflect our shift in multi-client strategy to include new 3D acquisition, and implemented a significant cost reduction program to lower our operating expenses.  We reorganized our new ventures sales organization to accelerate our entry into the 3D new acquisition multi-client market, bringing our projects closer to the reservoir, where capital investment tends to be more consistent and programs have larger scale revenue and earnings potential.  ION has rapidly grown our 3D library from almost nothing to 350,000 sq km of seamlessly integrated reimaged data over the last few years, which has given us credibility and experience in the space and led to a pipeline of opportunities for new 3D towed streamer or seabed programs we have not seen before.  On the cost side of the equation, we recognize the need to reduce our corporate cost structure.  In January 2020, we executed a program that will improve focus and execution on strategic initiatives while delivering annualized savings of over $20 million.

"With that work behind us, I am still as excited about ION and our business as when I took the CEO role.  We are aligned around select initiatives that can uniquely position ION in the new industry landscape, which should lead to better financial results.  Offshore is picking up and we see material activity among our client base to rebalance portfolios and maximize value, which drives related data sales opportunities to fill customer knowledge gaps.  Our E&P Technology & Services team has new focus on 3D new acquisition program opportunities, aligned with our leading imaging capabilities.  Our Operations Optimization business is growing steadily and we just secured another Marlin™ SmartPort customer after ramping up our port business development capacity."

HOUSTON, Dec. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that Steve Bate, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring and stepping down from his position as CFO effective February 1, 2020.  Mr. Bate, who joined ION in 2005, will remain with ION as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO until the end of June to facilitate a seamless transition.  

"On behalf of ION and our Board of Directors, I would like to thank Steve for his many contributions over the last 15 years," said Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "He has held a number of financial and operational leadership positions at ION and was instrumental in helping us navigate multiple challenging E&P cycles."

Mr. Bate will be succeeded by Mike Morrison as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Interim).  In his 17-year tenure with ION, Mr. Morrison has excelled in a variety of senior positions in finance and accounting, mostly recently as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. 

"Mike has in-depth knowledge and extensive experience to effectively steward ION's financial management," said Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "He has worked closely with our executive team on a number of strategic financial initiatives, including multiple capital market transactions, and I'm looking forward to working with him to deliver value to all of our stakeholders."

HOUSTON, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the Company was awarded a large two-year ocean bottom nodal data processing and imaging contract by ARGAS.  ION will deliver high-end time and depth imaging to facilitate exploration and production of the acquired area.  Full waveform inversion (FWI) will be a key component in the workflow to achieve a high resolution velocity model for depth imaging and seismic inversion for reservoir characterization.

"We are pleased to continue expanding our seabed imaging work in the Middle East through successful collaboration with ARGAS and Saudi Aramco," said Ken Williamson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION's E&P Technology and Services group.  "Recognized as imaging leaders in ocean bottom seismic and FWI, ION has closely collaborated with several customers on exploration and production projects and delivered valuable insights to impact their decisions and plans.  Cutting-edge model building and imaging tools, such as FWI, can help reduce risk and enable more effective decisions.  ION was selected for this project due to our exceptional customer service, relevant local experience and advanced seabed imaging technology."

HOUSTON, Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today reported total net revenues of $53.2 million in the third quarter 2019, a 13% increase compared to total net revenues of $47.2 million one year ago.  Both segment revenues increased during the quarter, driven by Imaging Services and Marlin™ projects.  ION's net loss was $3.7 million, or a loss of $0.26 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.5 million, or a loss of $0.54 per share in the third quarter 2018.  Excluding special items in both periods, the Company reported an Adjusted net loss of $3.0 million, or a loss of $0.21 per share, compared to an Adjusted net loss of $7.3 million, or a loss of $0.52 per share in the third quarter 2018.  A reconciliation of special items to the reported financial results can be found in the tables of this press release.

The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $15.5 million for the third quarter 2019, an increase from $13.0 million one year ago.  A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the closest comparable GAAP numbers can be found in the tables of this press release.

Net cash flows from operations were $5.0 million during the third quarter 2019, compared to $(7.1) million in the third quarter 2018.  Total net cash flows, including investing and financing activities, were $(1.7) million, compared to $(14.3) million one year ago.  At September 30, 2019, the Company had total liquidity of $65.5 million, consisting of $27.9 million of cash on hand and $37.6 million of available borrowing capacity under its $50.0 million revolving credit facility.  There were no outstanding amounts under the credit facility at September 30, 2019.

"While our third quarter financial performance was an improvement year-on-year, we haven't launched the scale of new multi-client programs we had originally anticipated," stated Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "This quarter, we sanctioned two new 3D multi-client programs and rolled out an enhanced frequency source offering that will differentiate us in the growing multi-client seabed space.  We see some modest market improvements and believe we are well positioned for our E&P clients' highly targeted exploration investments."

"I am also pleased with our tangible progress on a portfolio of growth initiatives.  We achieved record Marlin revenues, commercialized another 4Sea component for the seabed market, completed a 5-year Marlin SmartPorts™ agreement with our UK launch partner, and successfully demonstrated a port security system with the U.S. Navy."

For the first nine months of 2019, the Company reported total net revenues of $132.0 million, a 25% increase compared to total net revenues of $105.5 million one year ago.  ION's net loss was $33.7 million, or a loss of $2.39 per share, compared to a net loss of $51.8 million, or a loss of $3.81 per share in the first nine months of 2018.  Excluding special items in both periods, the Company reported an Adjusted net loss of $28.2 million, or a loss of $2.00 per share, compared to an Adjusted net loss of $47.8 million, or a loss of $3.52 per share in the first nine months of 2018.  Adjusted EBITDA was $22.7 million for the first nine months of 2019, compared to $5.2 million one year ago.

Net cash flows from operations were $19.3 million, compared to $(7.3) million in the first nine months of 2018.  Total net cash flows, including investing and financing activities, were $(5.7) million in the first nine months of 2019, compared to $(22.0) million one year ago.

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NetEase, Inc. ("NetEase") (NTES) and Alibaba Group Holding Limited ("Alibaba") (BABA) today announced Alibaba's acquisition of NetEase's import e-commerce platform Kaola for approximately US$2 billion. The transaction paves the way for the two internet companies with deep roots in Hangzhou to further identify and explore business collaborations.

Alibaba plans for Kaola to continue to operate independently under its current brand. Tmall Import and Export General Manager Alvin Liu will serve as Kaola's new CEO.

In addition, Alibaba and NetEase have entered into a definitive agreement for Alibaba, together with Yunfeng, to invest approximately US$700 million in NetEase Cloud Music in its latest round of financing. The completion of this transaction is subject to certain closing conditions. NetEase will remain the controlling shareholder of NetEase Cloud Music following the closing of this transaction.

"We are pleased to have found a strategic fit for Kaola within Alibaba's extensive ecosystem, where Kaola will continue to provide Chinese consumers with high-quality import products and services. At the same time, the completion of this strategic transaction will allow NetEase to focus on its growth strategy, investing in markets that allow us to best leverage our competitive advantages. We remain fully committed to offering our users best-in-class and differentiated online content born from our relentless drive for craftsmanship and innovation," said William Ding, the Chief Executive Officer of NetEase. "As the controlling shareholder of NetEase Cloud Music, we will continue to fully support the growth of this business, helping it to realize its strategic goals in the music industry."

"Alibaba is confident about the future of China's import e-commerce market, which we believe remains in its infancy with great growth potential. We welcome Kaola to the Alibaba family and value NetEase's contributions in incubating an e-commerce platform with strong import capabilities. With Kaola, we will further elevate import service and experience for Chinese consumers through synergies across the Alibaba ecosystem," said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. "Alibaba also looks forward to becoming a partner in the future development of NetEase Cloud Music and exploring innovative collaboration in the digital entertainment space."

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Reports

• Total net revenues of $41.8 million in the second quarter 2019, a 69% increase compared to total net revenues of $24.7 million one year ago, 
  
• ION's net loss was $8.6 million, or a loss of $0.61 per share, compared to a net loss of $25.9 million, or a loss of $1.86 per share in the second quarter 2018. 
  
• Excluding special items in both periods, the Company reported an Adjusted net loss of $8.3 million, or a loss of $0.59 per share, compared to an Adjusted net loss of $23.4 million, or a loss of $1.68 per share in the second quarter 2018.
  

"We had a strong quarter, especially given the continued fiscal discipline among E&P operators," stated Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our revenues and earnings were up significantly both year-on-year and sequentially.  As expected, we had very focused engagement from our E&P clients on targeted exploration programs primarily in North and South America.  While 2019 E&P spending levels are projected to be up slightly, it continues to be unclear how robust exploration activity and funding will be this year.  However, we remain cautiously optimistic given the uptick in backlog since the end of last year and the new venture interest we're seeing.  Indications from our customers are that the towed streamer space is experiencing modest improvement, while the ocean bottom segment is continuing to expand with strong double digit growth.

"I'm also pleased with our management transition.  We are well aligned and committed to accelerate progress executing our strategy.  We sanctioned six new multi-client programs so far this year.  We also made significant headway on the commercialization of 4Sea™ and SailWing™, which target one of the real growth segments in our industry.  We signed a memorandum of understanding with iSEISMIC to deploy the complete 4Sea next generation ocean bottom system.  In addition, we leased our first SailWing system and new rechargeable battery technology under recurring revenue business models.  We are also continuing to expand and enhance our Marlin offshore operations optimization software for both E&P and adjacent markets.  Our Optimization Services revenues were at an all-time high, driven by Marlin deployments.  The Marlin SmartPort™ pilot in the UK is progressing nicely.  It's a major digital transformation effort that will take the client from paper, radio and physical whiteboard operations management to a holistic digital capability that will give them a competitive edge over other ports.  The opportunity for ION, with thousands of ports worldwide, is quite exciting."

HOUSTON, July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) and iSEISMIC AS, an ocean bottom seismic (OBS) acquisition specialist, today announced a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on seabed acquisition technologies.  iSEISMIC plans to utilize the full suite of ION's next generation 4Sea™ ocean bottom acquisition and imaging technology to deliver a step-change in the safety, efficiency, quality and turnaround time of seabed surveys.  This agreement will enable ION to commercialize its new 4Sea technology and provides an opportunity to realize the benefits of our technology to acquire ocean bottom multi-client programs more quickly and cost-effectively with an experienced service provider.  The companies are looking forward to successfully deploying 4Sea and significantly expanding the use of superior seabed data to enhance clients' reservoir decision-making. 

"This collaboration validates our component approach and provides ION an exciting opportunity to further participate in the growing, high value seabed market and extract recurring revenue from the value our technology delivers, without compromising our asset light strategy," said Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Deploying 4Sea as a complete system will enable iSEISMIC and our multi-client customers to gain maximum benefit from this fully integrated transformational architecture for exceptionally efficient OBS data acquisition.  We look forward to working with iSEISMIC to create a Blue Ocean shift for the applications of OBS data in our industry."

"This partnership presents a unique opportunity for both companies to leverage significant synergies to gain a strengthened foothold in the OBS market," stated Carl Berg, iSEISMIC's Chief Executive Officer.  "ION is an ideal partner as their multi-client business development, imaging expertise and revolutionary technology nicely complements our team's aggregated operational experience acquiring over 150 surveys, including more than 50 OBS surveys, while deploying a range of new technologies.  After considering a number of industry alternatives, we believe the full suite of ION's 4Sea technologies will enable us to achieve a radical breakthrough in OBS performance and give us a range of competitive advantages.  As a first mover with the complete 4Sea platform, including the fully automated deployment and retrieval system, we will have the fastest operational speed in the industry, significantly faster than today's standard."   

HOUSTON, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced an expansion to the Company's 2D multi-client program offshore Newfoundland, Canada.  Due to continued client interest, the second phase of GrandSPAN has now more than doubled in size from last year's expectation to nearly 11,000 km.  The industry-supported program is designed to both augment the results from the initial phase of the program acquired in 2018 and combine the regional program with two other ION BasinSPAN programs on the eastern Canadian margin, creating a contiguous regional seismic data set in excess of 30,000 km offshore northeast Canada.  Acquisition began in June with initial deliverables becoming available starting July 2019to be of value ahead of the upcoming lease rounds.

"The program is intended to further improve the understanding of hydrocarbon potential, extend known plays into new areas and de-risk new play types and exploration investments," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's Ventures group.  "With proven producing basins and under-explored proven basins, northeast Canada presents an attractive opportunity for near-field explorers to utilize existing infrastructure and technology in the area.  The second phase of the program will tie at least 12 additional key wells, joining the 46 already incorporated into the program, to enable customers to correlate current producing discoveries to new exploration ideas."

HOUSTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the completion of all 4Sea™ system components designed to revolutionize the safety, efficiency, quality and turnaround time of seabed data acquisition and imaging.  Next generation ocean bottom technology provides an opportunity to drastically improve the economics of today's very expensive surveys to significantly expand the number of fields or scope of programs where this superior imaging technology can be applied.

4Sea's transformational architecture enables a paradigm shift in performance by centralizing operational data to power analytics and optimize decision-making using intelligent software and novel hardware.  The following 4Sea components are designed to optimize ocean bottom surveys from initial planning to final processing, and while they can be used individually, maximum value is achieved as an integrated system: 

• Gator™ is ION's leading ocean bottom command and control system providing intelligent connectivity and optimization for all 4Sea components.
• MESA® SimSurvey™ is a software tool that optimizes survey parameters by rapidly modeling multiple acquisition scenarios to achieve imaging objectives as safely and cost effectively as possible.
• Marlin™ is an application that, similar to air traffic control, integrates activities across time and space with operational rules to improve situational awareness, safety and efficiency.
• The automated back deck is designed to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of seabed surveys by de-manning operations and tripling typical node deployment and retrieval speeds.
• New sensors capture a broader spectrum of frequencies to produce higher resolution images.
• SailWing™ is a light foil-based alternative to conventional bulky marine diverters for smarter, faster source vessel performance, reducing turn times by up to two-thirds and reducing repair time.
• The QA/QC system establishes an integrated and automated data flow from the sources and receivers that eliminates user-intensive workflows in an environment of ever increasing acquisition rates and data densities while providing ship-to-shore diagnostics to ensure data integrity and accelerated data delivery through the subsequent data processing cycle.

"ION has over a decade of experience developing and deploying ocean bottom systems around the world," said Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "E&P companies greatly value higher resolution seabed data to optimize reservoir development and production decisions, but the high cost has historically limited its application.  With advances in digitalization, we took a fresh look at what would deliver a step-change in performance to make this technology feasible for broader applications.  We envisioned a modern data-centric approach combined with intelligent software and innovative hardware that could enable smarter planning, improved execution and holistic decision-making across seabed operations.  After extensive development and testing, I'm pleased that 4Sea components are delivering, and often exceeding, target goals to enable our customers to capture benefits spanning improved safety, efficiency, image quality and turnaround time for ocean bottom data."  

HOUSTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the completion of all 4Sea™ system components designed to revolutionize the safety, efficiency, quality and turnaround time of seabed data acquisition and imaging.  Next generation ocean bottom technology provides an opportunity to drastically improve the economics of today's very expensive surveys to significantly expand the number of fields or scope of programs where this superior imaging technology can be applied.

4Sea's transformational architecture enables a paradigm shift in performance by centralizing operational data to power analytics and optimize decision-making using intelligent software and novel hardware.  The following 4Sea components are designed to optimize ocean bottom surveys from initial planning to final processing, and while they can be used individually, maximum value is achieved as an integrated system: 

• Gator™ is ION's leading ocean bottom command and control system providing intelligent connectivity and optimization for all 4Sea components.
• MESA® SimSurvey™ is a software tool that optimizes survey parameters by rapidly modeling multiple acquisition scenarios to achieve imaging objectives as safely and cost effectively as possible.
• Marlin™ is an application that, similar to air traffic control, integrates activities across time and space with operational rules to improve situational awareness, safety and efficiency.
• The automated back deck is designed to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of seabed surveys by de-manning operations and tripling typical node deployment and retrieval speeds.
• New sensors capture a broader spectrum of frequencies to produce higher resolution images.
• SailWing™ is a light foil-based alternative to conventional bulky marine diverters for smarter, faster source vessel performance, reducing turn times by up to two-thirds and reducing repair time.
• The QA/QC system establishes an integrated and automated data flow from the sources and receivers that eliminates user-intensive workflows in an environment of ever increasing acquisition rates and data densities while providing ship-to-shore diagnostics to ensure data integrity and accelerated data delivery through the subsequent data processing cycle.

"ION has over a decade of experience developing and deploying ocean bottom systems around the world," said Chris Usher, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "E&P companies greatly value higher resolution seabed data to optimize reservoir development and production decisions, but the high cost has historically limited its application.  With advances in digitalization, we took a fresh look at what would deliver a step-change in performance to make this technology feasible for broader applications.  We envisioned a modern data-centric approach combined with intelligent software and innovative hardware that could enable smarter planning, improved execution and holistic decision-making across seabed operations.  After extensive development and testing, I'm pleased that 4Sea components are delivering, and often exceeding, target goals to enable our customers to capture benefits spanning improved safety, efficiency, image quality and turnaround time for ocean bottom data."  

HOUSTON, May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today reported revenues of $37.0 million in the first quarter 2019, a 10% increase compared to revenues of $33.5 million one year ago, driven in part by an increase in data library sales and Marlin™ deployments.  ION's net loss was $21.4 million, or $(1.52) per share, compared to a net loss of $18.4 million, or $(1.44) per share in the first quarter 2018.

The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $(4.6) million for the first quarter 2019, a decrease from the Adjusted EBITDA of $(1.1) million one year ago.  A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the closest comparable GAAP numbers can be found in the tables of this press release.

Net cash flows from operations were $15.4 million during the first quarter 2019, compared to $0.6 million in the first quarter 2018.  Total net cash flows, including investing and financing activities, were $5.0 million, compared to $(1.3) million one year ago.  At March 31, 2019, the Company had total liquidity of $78.1 million, consisting of $38.4 million of cash on hand, and $39.7 million of available borrowing capacity under its $50.0 millionrevolving credit facility, of which nothing was drawn.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I'm pleased with the start to the year given the uncertain market outlook many of our E&P clients had in December due to oil price volatility.  While 2019 E&P spending levels are projected to be slightly up, it remains unclear how robust exploration activity and funding will be in 2019.  However, we are cautiously optimistic given the uptick in new venture interest we're seeing.

"We continue to believe market fundamentals will gradually improve as it becomes increasingly critical to meet production demand in the next decade.  Oil and gas projections suggest continued demand growth may create a supply gap in the middle of the next decade that shale may be unable to meet, necessitating offshore deepwater exploration and development.  Due to the time it takes to develop and start producing oil and gas from new discoveries offshore, there's an increasing need to reinvest in conventional resources offshore to meet demand in the middle of the next decade.

"Near-term, however, we expect exploration spending will remain very focused, with the majority of data sales tied to license rounds closing this year.  We remain focused on an increase in new multi-client program development, commercialization of our 4Sea next generation ocean bottom technology and greater adoption of Marlin offshore operations optimization software in both E&P and adjacent markets."

HOUSTON, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced a new 2D multi-client reimaging program off the Pacific coast of Central America.  The Maya Reprocessing program covers unexplored open acreage that has not had E&P activity in 40 years.  Previous exploration wells along the margin suggest the presence of an active petroleum system in the Pacific forearc basins.  E&P companies can use these data to evaluate the prospective areas identified from the reimaged data.  The program covers ~9,000 km of data that extend from the Tehuantepec Basin of Southern Mexico to the Sandino Basin of Western Nicaragua and creates a calibrated data set.  The program is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

"We have repeatedly proven the value we can deliver by seamlessly integrating and reimaging existing data sets," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development.  "This approach provides a cost-effective way for our clients to evaluate prospectivity of new areas.  A broad range of E&P companies are looking to add new low cost reserves to their portfolios and are interested in exploring some new frontiers." 

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Revenues of $74.6 million in the fourth quarter 2018, a 29% increase compared to revenues of $57.9 million one year ago.
• Net loss was $19.3 million, or $(1.38) per share, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million, or $(0.12) per share in the fourth quarter 2017.

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "While our fourth quarter revenue improved sequentially, driven primarily by the success of our Brazil 3D reimaging programs, we experienced geopolitical headwinds that further delayed Mexico and Panama data sales.  In addition, typical year-end spending didn't materialize in the way we anticipated for key customers, likely due to the commodity price slide experienced in the fourth quarter of 2018.

"We continue to expect near-term oil price volatility and for E&P capital preservation to take priority over reserve replacement, with very focused exploration spending.  That said, the international market is anticipated to grow for a second consecutive year and we are seeing increasing momentum across all our E&P and adjacent market businesses.  We believe market fundamentals will continue to improve as it becomes increasingly critical to meet production demand in the next decade.  In 2019, we expect an increase in new program development, the completion of our 4Sea commercialization and greater adoption of Marlin in both E&P and adjacent markets.  As usual, we expect 2019 to be back-end loaded given the timing of client budget spending, license rounds and new program activity."

HOUSTON, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced a new 2D multi-client reimaging program offshore Brazil.  The first phase of the Farofa program covers acreage in the deep water Campos basin that will be available for licensing this October in Brazil's upcoming Round 16.  The program will reimage ~10,000 km of existing data using the latest technology to provide an updated view of the outboard salt basin area.  This program will extend the Picanha 3D program into the Round 16 area.  The limited 3D data available in this area of Round 16 makes the Farofa dataset critical in providing valuable insights of the pre-salt potential.  Initial data is expected to be available in Q1 2019 and the program is anticipated to be completed in May 2019.

"Brazil has continued to draw strong interest from large E&P companies, attracting an astounding $5.5 billion in signature bonuses in less than two years," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development.  "The Round 16 area covered by the Farofa program has extremely complex salt bodies that overlie and mask the extent of the pre-salt play.  The complex nature of this area creates challenges in imaging relative to the inboard part of the Campos Basin, making it an exciting opportunity for new exploration.  This program leverages ION's Brazil expertise and expands our data library in Brazil to 75,000 sq km of 3D data and 85,000 km of 2D data offshore." 

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Revenues of $47.2 million in the third quarter 2018, a 23% decrease compared to revenues of $61.1 million one year ago.
• ION's net loss was $7.5 million, or $(0.54) per share, compared to a net income of $4.9 million, or $0.41 per diluted share in the third quarter 2017.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are disappointed with our third quarter results as the originally anticipated improvement in deal flow was impacted by three key factors.  First, the Panama license round has yet to be announced.  Second, the recently elected president in Mexico has caused the E&P industry to pause spending on new acreage and seismic data in Mexico until there is better clarity on international investment after he takes office in December.  Third, the continued E&P company disciplined focus on procurement is restricting exploration spending and pushing deals into the fourth quarter.  As expected, some of the delayed second quarter transactions closed during the third quarter.  While sales from our Panama and Mexico programs were pushed out, we saw strong commitments and an acceleration of activity in Brazil with our Picanha 3D reimaging program.  Pent up demand for data is continuing to build a strong pipeline of opportunities for the fourth quarter and 2019.  While long-term oil and gas fundamentals remain strong, near-term exploration spending continues to be lumpy and unpredictable."

HOUSTON, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced a new 3D multi-client program onshore Mexico, which is fully supported by industry funding.  The Tabasco 3D reimaging program will seamlessly integrate and reimage 46 data sets with the latest technology into a contiguous volume that ties the onshore and offshore plays at the prospect and regional scale.  The initial 6,500 sq km phase of the 19,000 sq km program has commenced and is expected to be completed during Q1 2019.

"While the Sureste basin has been extensively explored, we believe newly reimaged data will reveal insights that will unlock additional exploration potential at a low evaluation cost," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development.  "This data set builds on our reimaging success in the area and will allow clients to tie and compare offshore 3D data and potential exploration targets to existing onshore production.  ION has repeatedly demonstrated its unique ability to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver a cohesive regional perspective using existing 3D seismic and well data." 

HOUSTON, June 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) and Greensea Systems, Inc. today announced a joint marketing agreement to provide underwater navigation solutions for manned and unmanned underwater vehicle operators.  This partnership will accelerate the adoption of ION's technologies into larger, less cyclic adjacent markets offshore and in the military while providing Greensea with options to integrate ION sensor technology into a growing number of navigation systems.  Greensea and ION have already collaborated to integrate ION's optical magnetic heading sensor into Greensea's INSpect navigation system to dramatically improve subsea vehicle navigation accuracy in remote GPS-deprived environments.

"I am really pleased with how quickly we have adapted our technology to solve similar challenges in other industries," commented Chris Usher, Executive Vice President of ION's Operations Optimization group.  "Greensea was instrumental in helping us identify adjacent market opportunities for our technology and partnered with us to integrate and test our technologies' fit into their navigation system and devices.  As industry leaders in solving tough maritime navigation, positioning, sensing and communications challenges, there is a lot more potential to diversify over the next five years and we look forward to working together."

"Greensea has been developing innovative technology to improve subsea vehicle navigation for over ten years," stated Marybeth Gilliam, Chief Operating Officer for Greensea Systems.  "We have installed our integrated navigation and control system on hundreds of offshore and military vehicles.  With the addition of ION's advanced compass, we believe this is the most robust, precise and operator-friendly control and navigation technology available offshore today."

HOUSTON, June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced the second sale of a number of its highly differentiated optical magnetic heading sensors to enable subsea vehicles to quickly reach their desired destinations.  In the fourth quarter, successful field trials demonstrated the advanced compasses' accuracy and robustness in GPS-deprived environments and led to delivery of the first commercial order in the first quarter.

This example demonstrates how ION can successfully broaden its customer base and diversify its technology into adjacent markets.  In less than a year, the Devices business line made agile adjustments to adopt the mature compass offering from ION's industry-leading towed streamer positioning solution to suit the underwater vehicle market's navigation requirements. 

"The customer has been really pleased with our optical magnetic heading sensor's unique performance and how quickly we integrated it into their subsea vehicle precision navigation," said Chris Usher, Executive Vice President of ION's Operations Optimization group.  "In multiple tests we have demonstrated improved positioning accuracy to under half a percent of the distance travelled, without the aid of GPS or acoustic navigation and without locally calibrating the compass.  Our mechanically gimbaled optical magnetic heading sensor does not require calibration across different latitudes as the Earth's magnetic field changes.  We are exploring additional commercial opportunities for our technologies in marine robotics and other industries." 

HOUSTON, June 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the 100th deployment of its Marlin offshore operations optimization software.  Similar to air traffic control for the marine environment, Marlin supports a step change offshore from traditional manual processes to digital solutions that integrate and share information in real time to enable better, safer decisions.  Marlin has helped operators around the world improve their situational awareness and optimize their operational plans.  Deployments have spanned autonomous underwater vehicle flights, integrated offshore activities, time-lapse seismic surveys, marine operations in arctic ice, and shore-based marine control centers.  ION's world-class cloud-enabled software keeps information continuously updated so teams onshore and offshore can visualize and collaborate using the most accurate, high quality data.

"Reaching this milestone of 100 deployments reinforces the value Marlin is providing for offshore operational efficiency, safety, environmental compliance and total cost of ownership for diverse maritime assets," said Chris Usher, Executive Vice President of ION's Operations Optimization group.  "Clients are seeking smarter ways to manage their operations.  Marlin is able to support customer access to the comprehensive data and predictive analytics they need to make real-time decisions regarding their operations and assets.  In some cases, deploying Marlin resulted in millions of dollars of annual operational cost savings.  We are now seeing clients move from project deployments to permanent office installations, and starting to look at managing fleet activity.  The marine industry is on the cusp of a rapid digital transformation and we are just scratching the surface of Marlin's potential."

HOUSTON, May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced a new 2D multi-client program offshore Grand Banks in Newfoundland, Canada.  In the first phase of GrandSPAN, ION will acquire approximately 10,000 km of data with an expectation to sanction a second phase of approximately 5,000 km of data further south in 2019.  The industry-supported program is designed to investigate the architecture, evaluate the petroleum potential of proven basins and understand the geologic differences between producing and non-producing areas.  GrandSPAN will integrate with two other ION BasinSPAN programs in the area, providing a contiguous regional seismic data set in excess of 20,000 km offshore northeast Canada.  ION expects acquisition to begin this summer with initial deliverables available in Q3 2018.

"There has been a significant amount of oil and gas activity offshore northeast Canada for some time," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development group.  "However, exploration efforts to date have been fragmented, with a limited understanding of small geographic areas.  This program is designed to understand on a regional scale differences between basins in the area and why some exploration wells were successful and others were not.  This kind of information provides E&P companies with new insights to more cost-effectively explore and develop acreage in this area."

HOUSTON, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced its seventh 3D multi-client reimaging program offshore Mexico.  Based on the success of both the Campeche and Mexican Ridges 3D reimaging programs, now totalling over 130,000 sq km, ION is extending its data in a lesser explored area further to the north.  The Perdido South 3D reimaging program consists of over 16,000 sq km across six surveys in the southern part of the attractive Perdido area, believed to have prolific hydrocarbon potential.  ION's significant experience offshore Mexico, adjacent to the program area, will aid in the design of cutting-edge processing workflows and deliverables to optimize image quality and inform exploration programs.

"We are pleased to be collaborating on another large project offshore Mexico, where we anticipate strong client demand in upcoming license rounds," commented Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our approach to reimage the raw data using the most advanced imaging technology into a seamless data set will jumpstart exploration efforts in this largely untested basin."

The data will be delivered in phases over the next 10 months, with initial deliverables available in May, to accelerate subsurface knowledge and inform upcoming bid round decisions.

HOUSTON, May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidation of several of WesternGeco's marine streamer system patent claims, including four of the six claims that were the basis of the District Court's award of damages to WesternGeco in WesternGeco LLC vs ION Geophysical Corporation.  The patent claims were invalidated by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an administrative proceeding known as an Inter Partes Review.

The Federal Circuit had already reversed the District Court's award of foreign lost profits to WesternGeco in the aforementioned case in 2015, holding that they were categorically unavailable as a matter of law.  That decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which heard arguments in April and will likely issue a decision by the end of June.  The Court of Appeals' affirmation of the PTAB's decision positions ION well with yet another avenue to challenge WesternGeco's claims.

"This is clearly a David and Goliath situation with Schlumberger's unlimited resources, but we have been diligently fighting this case for over eight years," stated Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Today, our patents, which were filed first, remain valid while theirs have been invalidated.  While we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will affirm the Federal Circuit Court's 2015 decision that held foreign lost profits unavailable as a matter of law, if they do not, we now have yet another arrow in our quiver."

HOUSTON, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced acquisition began on a new 2D multi-client program offshore Ghana in partnership with Geoex and Ghana Geophysical.  ION and its partners will acquire up to 7,200 km of data in advance of the license round anticipated in late 2018 to help refine understanding of the hydrocarbon potential of the area.  Similar to other ION BasinSPAN™ programs, West Equatorial AfricaSPAN was custom designed in collaboration with regional experts and clients to answer remaining geological questions with a survey tied to recent discoveries.  This data will be the first offshore Ghana to image 40 km below the seafloor.  In addition, ION's Marlin™ operations optimization software will help maximize the safety and efficiency of the survey.  Acquisition is expected to be completed at the end of May 2018 with Fast Track products available in Q3 2018 and final imaging products expected in Q1 2019.

Ghana is believed to have up to 5-7 billion barrels of petroleum and up to 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in reserves and has renewed interest due to new projects coming online and the resolution of the maritime boundary dispute with Côte d'Ivoire in September 2017.  The Ghanaian Government is transitioning from an open door system to its first competitive bid round due to the petroleum legislation passed in August 2016 making its petroleum resource management more transparent.

"We are excited to support the Ghanaian government as the country prepares for its next offshore license round with the stated goal to attract additional investment to develop their reserves," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development group.  "The new data we are acquiring will help a number of E&P companies properly evaluate the offshore acreage in advance of the country's first competitive bid round later this year."

HOUSTON, April 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced the launch of its enterprise version of Marlin software to more broadly optimize offshore operations and continue advancing maritime digitization.  Marlin supports a step change offshore from traditional manual processes to digital solutions that integrate and share information in real time to enable better, safer decisions.  Similar to air traffic control, Marlin is designed to maximize the safety and efficiency of offshore operations by integrating a variety of data sources in real time (AIS vessel tracking, GIS geographic information, GPS, radar, satellite, USBL acoustic data, RFID radio frequency identification, ocean currents, etc.) with operational plans, creating an unparalleled picture of offshore operations to enhance decision-making.  Marlin provides a unique Cloud-enabled platform that links temporal planning (similar to a Gantt chart) with timestamped spatial data.  This integration of data enables multiple stakeholders onshore and offshore to share and visualize vessel route plans, information on operational activity alongside any associated exclusion zones, foresee and avoid conflicts between vessels and fixed assets, optimize schedules safely within a rules-based environment, and measure and improve asset performance.

ION has been delivering Marlin as a service for over three years.  This process enabled close collaboration with customers offshore to gather requirements to efficiently develop an enterprise-wide software package.  Marlin is differentiated by its comprehensive functionality across three technology layers.  The first layer leverages our industry-leading data management platform, which stores information in a central database.  The second is visualization technology, which displays all the data spatially from a global perspective down to the ship yard.  The third is the analytics and reporting engine, which enables extensive reporting and playback functionality and has been very popular among clients to continually improve operational safety and efficiency and resolve disputes.  Marlin has been deployed over 70 times in a variety of offshore projects, delivering significant value to clients.  These deployments have spanned AUV flight planning and optimization, integrated offshore activity planning, optimization of time-lapse seismic surveys co-mingled with busy oil and gas operations, marine operations in arctic ice, and shore-based marine control centers.

"This software package has the potential to revolutionize offshore operations," said Chris Usher, Executive Vice President of ION's Operations Optimization group.  "The maritime industry is going digital.  Clients are looking for a smarter way to manage their operations and this enterprise version of Marlin can reach a lot more clients and projects than our field service team could.  We believe Marlin can deliver significant value in operational efficiency, safety, environmental compliance and total cost of ownership for diverse maritime assets whether a customer operates a busy offshore oil and gas asset, tracks marine traffic in harbors, or manages supply vessel scheduling around wind farms.  Marlin consistently unites and engages personnel across activities and is proving invaluable around event transparency as almost every project is followed by requests for extensive mission playback from the system."

HOUSTON, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the early retirement of the $28.5 million third lien bonds maturing in May 2018.  ION received consent to move forward with the transaction ahead of schedule, eliminating additional interest expenses.

"De-levering our business has been a key priority for ION and I'm pleased with the progress we have made toward that goal," stated Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Not only did we retire the third lien bonds early, we are also positioning ourselves favorably to pay off the second lien indentures due in 2021 ahead of their scheduled maturity.  Our stock price has had a debt overhang on it for quite some time and we're looking forward to moving past these hurdles and focusing on executing our business."

HOUSTON, March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced a new 3D multi-client broadband reimaging program offshore Australia.  The North Vulcan 3D multi-client reimaging program covers the northern part of the Vulcan sub-basin offshore northwest Australia in an area known for complex imaging challenges.  The ~17,000 sq km program seamlessly integrates and reimages data from 15 vintage surveys using modern depth imaging.  It builds on knowledge gained from ION's regional 2D WestraliaSPAN survey and incorporates additional geophysical insight and geological interpretation to create a superior new image and enhanced subsurface understanding.

This proven hydrocarbon province has suffered from a lack of investment, in part due to the poor quality of existing data.  Reprocessing has delivered significant imaging uplift in geologies with similar imaging challenges.  ION's state-of-the-art broadband processing and GMO tomography can overcome subsurface imaging challenges stemming from a complicated velocity structure due to both shallow carbonates and salt.  This cost-effective reimaging will help de-risk future exploration in this complex area at a fraction of the cost of acquiring new data.  There are a number of existing fields and discoveries as well as available acreage in upcoming license rounds within the boundary of the North Vulcan 3D multi-client reimaging program.

"Based on our recent proof of concept, we expect to reveal new subsurface insights and hope to breathe new life into this relatively underdeveloped area," said Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's E&P Business Development group.  "The North Vulcan 3D reimaging program will be available to re-evaluate this complex province and inform investment decisions ahead of upcoming license rounds."

HOUSTON, Feb. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the successful completion of a public equity offering to begin delevering its business.  ION issued and sold 1,820,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $27.50 per share, and warrants to purchase an additional 1,820,000 shares of ION's common stock.  The net proceeds from this offering were $47,547,500, excluding transaction expenses.  The net proceeds will primarily be used to retire ION's third lien indentures of $28,500,000 on or prior to the May 15, 2018 maturity date and for general corporate purposes. The warrants have an exercise price of $33.60 per share, are immediately exercisable and expire on March 21, 2019.  If the warrants are exercised in full prior to their expiration, ION would receive additional proceeds of $61,152,000.

"The successful equity offering is not only an endorsement of our asset light strategy, but also a recognition of the velocity in our business and our underlying value," stated Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "While we had sufficient liquidity to retire the third lien bond maturing this May, these additional funds will further strengthen our balance sheet and enable us to be opportunistic and support continued diversification into adjacent markets.  I'm really pleased with the transaction.  The combination of the capital we raised today plus the potential exercise of the warrants in the next 13 months, along with our current liquidity and free cash flow throughout 2018, should position us with excess cash by early 2019 well in advance of the second lien indentures coming due in 2021."

HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO), ("ION" or the "Company") today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. The Company also expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of common stock and warrants offered in the public offering. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC is acting as co-manager for the offering.

A shelf registration statement relating to the shares of common stock and the warrants to be issued in the proposed offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and is effective. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted.

HOUSTON, Feb. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO), ("ION" or the "Company") today announced that it has priced its underwritten public offering of 1,820,000 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,820,000 shares of the Company's common stock at a public offering price of $27.50 per share and accompanying warrant. The warrants have an exercise price of $33.60 per share, are immediately exercisable and expire on March 21, 2019. The Company expects the gross proceeds from this offering to be $50,050,000, before deducting the underwriting discount and other estimated offering expenses. The Company expects to close the offering, subject to customary conditions, on or about February 21, 2018.

ION intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to pay its Senior Secured Third-Priority Lien Notes due May 15, 2018, and to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures, working capital or investments in its subsidiaries.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Revenues of $57.9 million in the fourth quarter 2017, a 64% increase compared to revenues of $35.4 million one year ago.
• ION's net loss was $1.4 million, or $(0.12) per share, compared to a net loss of $6.5 million, or $(0.55) per share in the fourth quarter 2016.  Excluding special items in both periods, the Company reported an Adjusted net income of $4.7 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared to an Adjusted net loss of $11.6 million, or $(0.99) per share in the fourth quarter 2016.

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I am pleased with our performance not only in the fourth quarter, but also for every quarter throughout 2017.  Although the market recovery has been slow for many, our efforts over the last two years to focus on select segments where capital is flowing, along with our asset light strategy, has paid off.  As a niche business in the larger E&P market, we surgically targeted select geographic areas and production optimization opportunities less dependent on cycle recovery and where our differentiated technologies delivered significant value.

"In our E&P Technology and Services group, we continued to benefit from our investment in multi-client data, generating solid growth in new venture revenues throughout the year.  We had tremendous success with our 3D reimaging programs, expanding our 3D data library from 8,000 sq km to over 165,000 sq km in just two years.  In addition, after two years of very little new venture activity, we launched five new programs in 2017, and already secured underwriting for new programs in 2018.  Our data library is exceptionally well positioned for upcoming license round activity and 2018 is looking even better with more diverse interest in programs across the globe.

"In our E&P Operations Optimization segment, we maintained our core seismic software and equipment businesses while pursuing additional opportunities for our technology in adjacent markets.  For example, we made significant headway in both executing deployments and developing the shrink-wrapped version of Marlin, our operations optimization platform.  In 2017, Marlin deployments more than doubled with 39 new deployments across 19 projects, vastly improving the situational awareness, safety and efficiency for a wide array of offshore operational challenges.  In addition, we offset some of the decline in seismic equipment revenues by selling existing technology to new customers in scientific, military and academic industries.  We are particularly proud of the development effort to eliminate time-consuming calibrations for military diving platforms by incorporating our highly differentiated compass from our positioning solution.  This is an example of some exciting investments we are making to broaden and diversify our customer base by modifying existing ION technology for adjacent markets outside of seismic.

"We expect 2018 will be a better year for ION, and as usual, believe the back half of the year will be stronger than the first half.  With almost $68 million in liquidity, we have sufficient capital to retire our third lien indentures of $28.5 million, which mature May 15, 2018.  Overall, we have positioned ourselves to take advantage of a more normal 2018, and I look forward to speaking to you in more detail about our 2017 results and 2018 outlook on our earnings call."

HOUSTON, Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced it is offering a 2D multi-client data package offshore Argentina in advance of the 2018 license round.  ION has delivered a regional framework consisting of approximately 30,000 km of data over the Austral and Malvinas basins' relatively under-explored petroleum region.  For almost 10 years, ION's 11,500 km of ArgentineSPAN was the only dataset available in the Argentine offshore.  The knowledge gained from working these data enabled us to confidently incorporate and interpret the 30,000 km of vintage data into our extensive regional understanding offshore Argentina.  ION secured the seismic data and well reports with exclusive licensing rights.

ION will provide a full interpretation report detailing the exploration history, the geologic framework and an inventory of potential leads to jumpstart exploration efforts there in advance of the anticipated license round in 2018.  The complete seismic database is available now and the full interpretation report will be completed in December 2017.

Joe Gagliardi, SVP of ION's Ventures group, said, "ION continues to be a leader in frontier exploration and fit-for-purpose solutions.  Acquiring access to this unique dataset has provided the opportunity for ION to get information into the hands of our clients at an early stage, which can be used for both acreage evaluation and assessment if other data is necessary for operators to build and execute a rapid evaluation strategy for the region in advance of the license round."

Third quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Revenues were $43.5 million, an increase of over 400% from third quarter 2016; data library revenues were $5.0 million, a 77% decrease;
• Net income of $4.9 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, on revenues of $61.1 million, compared to net income of $1.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on revenues of $78.6 million in third quarter 2016. 

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are a niche business in the larger E&P market, so we target geographic areas and production optimization opportunities less dependent on cycle recovery, and where our differentiated technologies bring significant value.  These efforts have begun to pay off and support the recovery of our business.

"Continuing the strong momentum of the first and second quarters, our third quarter revenues increased sequentially by 33%, driven by continued strong sales of our 3D multi-client reimaging programs as well as new 2D programs we have recently launched.  Excluding the OBS Services revenues from the prior year, our revenues of $61 million are up 26% over the third quarter of last year.  We reported a net income of $5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $27.1 million for the third quarter, doubling our Adjusted EBITDA for the first and second quarters of this year combined.  Overall, our third quarter was stronger than anticipated and we expect to finish the year strong.

"We experienced a significant increase in our accounts and unbilled receivables during the quarter and their collection, combined with expected year-end customer spending on data libraries, should result in significant cash generation during the fourth quarter.  This should lead to a meaningful increase in our liquidity, which in turn positions us well for the third lien bond maturity in May 2018."

HOUSTON, Sept. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced an approximate 50% extension to its previously announced program offshore Panama due to strong client interest and prefunding to evaluate offshore Panama in advance of the anticipated license round.  The client-driven survey provides a regional framework typical of BasinSPAN™ programs to evaluate the geology of the Panamanian offshore, while the new extension provides more detailed coverage that will allow E&P companies to evaluate blocks ahead of the expected license round.  Recent exploration success offshore Colombia, adjacent to Panama's Caribbean coast, has created interest among E&P companies in high-quality seismic data to evaluate the hydrocarbon prospectivity on this margin.  The expanded program will be approximately 9,000 kilometers and is the only modern data available offshore Panama.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Over the last 18 months, we targeted opportunities less dependent on cycle recovery in specific geographic areas and production optimization offerings, and we are seeing these efforts pay off.  We launched four new programs this year that met our strict underwriting standards in addition to the continued success of our 3D multi-client Campeche reimaging program in collaboration with Schlumberger.  We have seen renewed interest in clients underwriting programs in advance of license rounds and to evaluate new discoveries.

"The program has been progressing well with excellent data quality and solid productivity, due in part to the deployment of our offshore operations management software, Marlin™.  Marlin enabled us to navigate one of the busiest maritime transit routes in the world near the Panama Canal resulting in a safer and more efficient program.  Akin to modern air traffic control systems, Marlin integrates a variety of real-time data sources that enables multiple stakeholders to share and visualize vessel route plans, foresee and avoid conflicts between vessels and fixed assets, optimize schedules, and measure and improve asset performance.   Marlin enables greater collaboration allowing underwriters to tune into what's happening in the field real-time from their offices to monitor program progress and key statistics."

HOUSTON, Sept. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PlanSea Solutions Limited and ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced a collaboration to improve the efficiency of offshore supply vessel logistics. By embedding PlanSea's powerful logistics optimization algorithms into ION's innovative Marlin offshore operations optimization software, the two companies aim to provide a comprehensive, real-time solution for marine logistics management that significantly reduces costs and risks.

ION's Marlin software provides a visualization and communications infrastructure to gather supply vessel inventory, scheduling and task data from existing systems and workflows. Consolidating this data enables Marlin to provide comprehensive situational awareness information with supply vessel key performance indicators (KPI) for analysis by management teams. By integrating PlanSea's field-proven optimization algorithms with Marlin's supply vessel performance statistics, the collaboration seeks to ensure efficient operations are maintained at all times. This solution is also designed to further reduce offshore marine support costs by creating a platform to enable supply vessel fleet sharing between companies.

Jim Cargill, CEO of PlanSea, said, "We are pleased to be working with ION on this exciting new development. It is important for the future of our industry that companies collaborate to ensure that efficiencies are achieved at the earliest possible date. PlanSea's software has successfully demonstrated major cost savings already and we look forward to working with ION and clients to optimize their offshore logistics operations."

Chris Usher, EVP & Chief Operating Officer of ION's E&P Operations Optimization group, commented, "Our Marlin offshore operations management solution has been delivering value for a range of operations globally, providing enhanced situational awareness and offshore activity planning. Our solution has been developed to bring these gains to offshore logistics, and collaborating with PlanSea allows us to offer a unique solution for optimization, adding considerable value to the overall package. Together we are able to improve operational efficiencies and minimize HSE risk."

HOUSTON, Aug. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced acquisition is in progress on a new 2D multi-client program offshore Panama.  Supported by industry funding, this is the first seismic survey acquired there in approximately 30 years.  PanamaSPAN� is designed to provide the framework to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of this unexplored area ahead of the anticipated inaugural license round. 

Building on recent exploration success offshore Colombia immediately adjacent to Panama's Caribbean coast, E&P companies are becoming increasingly interested in high-quality seismic data in this area to understand the potential hydrocarbon prospectivity.  Initial deliverables will be available in Q4 2017 and complete interpretation of the data will be available by mid-2018 to guide investment strategies.

The National Energy Secretary of Panama, V�ctor Urrutia, said, "Hydrocarbon exploration in Panama has identified various sedimentary basins, proving the existence of geological structures that may contain oil and gas, although there hasn't been a commercially exploitable discovery.  Today, through the use of new and more sophisticated techniques, it is possible to identify prospective areas that previously were not considered economically viable, such as deep water deposits and/or those that are geologically more difficult to locate.  The initiation of this seismic survey will provide high-value information to help assess Panama's oil and natural gas prospectivity.  We value the geological and geophysical expertise ION is providing to this process and are confident they will deliver the products and understanding required for proper evaluation.  We look forward to working with them throughout this process."

"The unique survey design will provide a better understanding of the hydrocarbon potential offshore Panama," commented Joe Gagliardi, SVP of ION's Ventures group.  "We will deliver the highest quality products and geologic insight to properly evaluate the exploration potential offshore Panama that our clients have come to expect from BasinSPAN programs."

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Revenues of $46.0 million, a 27% increase over second quarter 2016.
• Net loss of $33.8 million, or $(2.85) per share, compared to a net loss of $60.4 million, or $(5.48) per share in the first half of 2016

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Over the last 18 months, we have targeted opportunities less dependent on cycle recovery, such as specific geographical areas and production optimization offerings, and we are starting to see these efforts pay off. Similar to the first quarter, our second quarter revenues improved significantly driven by continued strong sales of our 3D multi-client reimaging programs as well as a new 2D program we launched during the quarter. We expect this momentum to continue in the back half of the year, partially driven by the significant backlog we've built. Our E&P Technology & Services segment ended the quarter with $48 million in backlog of multi-client and data processing programs, compared to $25 million at the end of the first quarter and $30 million in the second quarter of 2016. Our multi-client backlog is the highest it's been since the third quarter of 2013.

"We are continuing to see new venture activity pick up. In our first quarter earnings call, we mentioned we had sanctioned three new programs that met our strict underwriting standards that we expected to launch within the next 90 days. Of the three we sanctioned, one has been acquired, one is in progress and the third we anticipate starting acquisition in the next month.

"Our E&P Operations Optimization segment continues to be hampered by low utilization levels and day rates among our contractor customers. While our Optimization Software & Services revenues were flat, our Devices revenues increased 16% due in part to new technology sales to non-traditional customers for scientific and military applications and from incremental sales from recently commercialized products.

"In our Ocean Bottom Seismic (OBS) Services segment, we are actively pursuing multiple tenders for longer-term work while our crew remained idle during the quarter. Aligned with oil and gas companies' focus on production, we expect significant improvement in the overall OBS market in 2017 and beyond. Unfortunately due to political issues in the geographic areas where our current product technology is most competitive, we no longer envision the crew going back to work in the near-term.

"The new OBS technology we mentioned last quarter, 4Sea®, opens a much larger market due to the system's increased flexibility and efficiency. We introduced this system to all major consumers of OBS projects at the European Association of Geophysical Contractors annual meeting in June and it was extremely well received. We have worked quietly for over three years to develop this system and believe it will be extremely competitive. We are now bidding all future projects that start in late 2018 and beyond with ION's new 4Sea system."

HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced a new 3D multi-client broadband reimaging program offshore the Western Gulf of Mexico using the Mexican National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) data library. The Mexican Ridges 3D reimaging program is fully supported by industry funding and contains eight surveys covering approximately 28,800 sq km over the Mexican Ridges fold belt. Fast track data is available now for the deep water lease round (Round 2.4) in January 2018 and final products will be available for future license rounds in the area.

The Mexican Ridges are known for the complex geology and compressional folds. While there are many proven plays onshore and in shallow water, companies are looking for new play fairways and additionally how the known plays are related to observations in deep water. ION's Mexican Ridges program is a consistent, contiguous regional 3D volume that provides a better understanding of the hydrocarbon potential in this part of the basin.

"There is strong continued client interest in Mexico and demand for higher resolution data following the historic Zama-1 discovery. With the success of our Campeche reimaging program, ION is expanding its multi-client data offshore Mexico," said Ken Williamson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION's E&P Technology and Services group. "Our regional expertise in the Gulf of Mexico has enabled us to refine and test our geological understanding using the 3D data and provide cost-effective, high quality imaging to improve prospect identification and de-risk multiple exploration opportunities in the basin."

HOUSTON, Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced a new 3D multi-client broadband reimaging program offshore Brazil.  Supported by industry funding, the Picanha program provides a regional 3D framework that cost-effectively delivers fresh insights into the complex Campos and Santos basins' petroleum systems ahead of upcoming license rounds.

By using ION's latest broadband processing and imaging technology to reprocess and reimage 100,000 sq km of data from more than 50 interconnecting public-domain 3D surveys, ION is creating a regionally-calibrated, high quality and consistently-imaged 3D data set.  The regional perspective this data set provides will enable exploration teams to better evaluate, risk and rank a portfolio of opportunities for current and future exploration needs.  The large program will be delivered in phases to provide relevant bid round knowledge as quickly as possible.  The first 12,500 sq km over Round 14 have been delivered to clients and the next 25,000 sq km are in progress for December delivery.

"Repeated oil and gas discoveries in the world-class petroleum systems offshore Brazil continues to draw operators to the region," said Ken Williamson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION's E&P Technology and Services group.  "Picanha leverages ION's extensive local geological and geophysical experience in combination with our new Accelerated Imaging, making it possible to rapidly deliver high quality data for E&P companies to evaluate the context of these complex basins and to identify prospect opportunities for upcoming ANP license rounds." 

HOUSTON, July 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that written notice was received from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that it is not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 802.01B of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The Company is considered below criteria established by the NYSE for continued listing because its average market capitalization has been less than $50 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period, and at the same time its last reported stockholders' equity was below $50 million. The Company plans to notify the NYSE within 10 business days of its intent to submit a plan that demonstrates its ability to bring the Company into conformity with the continued listing standards within 18 months of receipt of the notice. The Company intends to submit the plan within 45 days. The NYSE will have 45 days after receipt of the plan to review and determine whether the Company has made a reasonable demonstration of its ability to return to conformity with the relevant standards within the 18-month period. The NYSE will either accept the plan, at which time the Company would be subject to ongoing monitoring for compliance with the plan, or the NYSE will not accept the plan and the Company would be subject to suspension and delisting procedures. During the 18-month period, the Company's shares will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE, subject to its continued compliance with the plan and other NYSE continued listing standards. The Company can provide no assurances that it will be able to satisfy any of the steps outlined above and maintain a listing of its shares.

There is no immediate impact on the listing of the Company's common stock, which will continue to trade on the NYSE, subject to the Company's compliance with other listing standards. The Company will continue to file periodic and other reports with the SEC under applicable federal securities laws.

Brian Hanson, ION's Chief Executive Officer and President stated, "We have already begun preparation on our plan to restore compliance with the NYSE as our business continues to improve and we will cooperatively work with the NYSE to return to compliance."

HOUSTON, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) and Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) today announced a joint agreement for ION to continue supplying Orca® software to PGS' fleet for another five years.  This contract extends the parties' technology partnership in marine command and control solutions to over 30 years.

Orca seamlessly integrates and manages data and workflows for seismic data acquisition, enabling geophysical service providers to control operations in the most safe, efficient manner in increasingly diverse modes of acquisition.  The system streamlines visibility and control to powerfully execute challenging geometries and multi-vessel operations while delivering simple, efficient processes for 2D, 3D and 4D acquisition.  Orca's automated workflows are designed to significantly improve seismic operational efficiency through reduced downtime, minimal infill, lower costs, and shorter cycle time.

"PGS remains committed to being the technology leader in marine seismic acquisition," stated Per Arild Reksnes, EVP of Operations at PGS. "We have been using Orca for many years and the quality of the product and customer service provided by ION is important to our operations.  PGS' major advances in offshore seismic acquisition technology have been well supported by corresponding developments in the Orca platform, including interfaces to our proprietary GeoStreamer marine seismic system.  A new, long-term agreement requires cooperation on a robust product roadmap, and we are pleased that Orca will support PGS' unique vision for the future."

"We're pleased to continue our long-standing collaboration with PGS on our industry's leading platform for command and control, which continues to enable improvements in both safety, precision and efficiency across the marine seismic acquisition workflow," said Chris Usher, EVP of ION's E&P Operations Optimization group.  "This deal secures our market leadership, and is a foundation for working with a leader in marine seismic acquisition to extend the value of the Orca solution from ship to shore and to comprehend multiple simultaneous operations within the survey area."

HOUSTON, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that the trial court issued an order on May 16, 2017 in the previously-reported lawsuit of WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical Corporation confirming its bench order, awarding enhanced damages of $5 million to WesternGeco.  The trial court also granted the motion of the sureties and ordered the surety bond be discharged and released.

"While we are not happy with the willfulness determination, we are overall pleased with the District Court's indication that the additional damages should be on the low end of what could have been a maximum possible amount of $44 million," stated Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "This eight-year process has been a long journey and we are excited to put this lawsuit behind us as it doesn't reflect the current spirit of collaboration between the parties."

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Revenues of $32.6 million, compared to $22.7 million in the first quarter 2016
• First quarter 2017 net loss of $23.3 million, or $(1.98) per share compared to a net loss of $35.0 million, or $(3.30) per share.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "As indicated in our year-end earnings call, our first quarter revenues were up compared to one year ago, driven in part by our 3D multi-client Campeche reimaging program. We continue to receive very positive feedback on the unprecedented turnaround time and significant imaging improvements we have made in both subsalt and above-salt imaging. We are seeing a significant increase in the sales pipeline for this program, as customers are looking to evaluate the data to help them make informed decisions in advance of the upcoming bid rounds scheduled later this year. We also experienced a significant increase in data library sales primarily associated with our offshore South America and our onshore North America data libraries.

"Regarding our patent litigation with WesternGeco, the District Court recently indicated in a ruling from the bench that we will be ordered to pay WesternGeco an additional $5 million, when a final order is issued by the District Court. This amount is in addition to the $20.8 million award previously paid by ION in November of last year.

"We continue to believe that the E&P industry reached the bottom of this cycle during 2016 as we are now seeing leading indicators of recovery. Ocean Bottom Seismic (OBS) tender activity continues to pick up and there is renewed customer interest in underwriting new venture programs for the first time in two years. We recently sanctioned three programs, which met our conservative underwriting standards, to kick off in the next 90 days. We continue to believe 2017 will deliver a modest improvement over 2016 as the market recovers. We also believe we have positioned ourselves to take full advantage of what should be a more robust 2018."

HOUSTON, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that its board of directors has authorized the Company to terminate, effective immediately, the Distribution Agreement (the "Agreement") with Evercore Group L.L.C. (the "Agent") providing for the Company's "at-the-market" equity offering program (the "ATM Program"). The Agreement allowed the Company under the ATM Program to issue and sell, from time to time, through the Agent, shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share, having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $20,000,000 (the "Shares").  No Shares were sold under the ATM Program and the Company has no further obligations thereunder.

"The intent behind our 'at-the-market' offering was to put a program in place to give us the ability to be opportunistic if opportunities that require additional capital present themselves. Unfortunately it was not well received by the markets as our short interest increased 50%. Given the pricing pressure on the stock, we do not feel it's in the best interests of ION's shareholders to continue the program," stated Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "As a result, we are terminating the program."

HOUSTON, Dec. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that it has filed a prospectus supplement under which it may sell up to $20,000,000 of its common stock through an "at-the-market" equity offering program (the "ATM Program"). ION intends to use the net proceeds from sales under the ATM Program for general corporate purposes. The timing of any sales will depend on a variety of factors to be determined by ION.

The shares will be offered through Evercore ISI as a sales agent and/or principal. Sales of common stock, if any, will be made from time to time in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of a sale or at negotiated prices, or as otherwise agreed with the sales agent, and, as a result, sale prices may vary.

The Company has filed a prospectus supplement relating to the ATM Program with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to the prospectus contained in its existing shelf registration statement on Amendment No.1 to Form S-3 (file no. 333-213769) for the offering of common stock described in this communication. Sales under the ATM Program will be made pursuant to the prospectus and prospectus supplement. "At-the-market" offerings, as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, include sales made directly on or through the New York Stock Exchange, or another market for ION's common stock, and sales made through a market maker other than on an exchange.

HOUSTON, Nov. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that on November 14, 2016, the trial court issued an order in the previously-reported lawsuit of WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical Corporation that reduced the amount of the appeal bond from $120 million to $65 million, ordered the sureties to pay principal and interest on the royalty previously awarded in the amount of approximately $22 million and declined to issue a final judgment until after consideration of whether enhanced damages should be awarded in the case.

Brian Hanson, ION's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "While we were disappointed with the unusual decision by the trial court ordering the sureties to pay the royalty damages and interest without a final judgment, we intend to respect the trial court's decision by transferring up to $22 million to WesternGeco in lieu of having WesternGeco exercise its remedies against the sureties.

"It comes at a time where we have both right sized our business and built sufficient liquidity of approximately $80 million to both fund this payment and support normal business operations.

"This seven-year-old lawsuit has been a hangover to ION's shareholders far too long and we are looking forward to putting the potential risk of this payment behind us so we can focus on running our business and creating shareholder value through a very difficult time in the industry.  The relationship between ION and WesternGeco has never been stronger as we both collaborate on projects and support them as a customer of ION. The value of this relationship far diminishes the $22 million payment and I look forward to a strong future working relationship together."

Third Quarter 2016 financial Results

• Revenue was $78.6 million for the period vs last years same quarter of $66.7 million
• Net income of $1.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on revenues of $78.6 million, compared to a net loss of $20.4 million, or $(1.86) per share, on revenues of $66.7 million in third quarter 2015. In comparison, excluding special items, the Company's third quarter 2015 adjusted net loss was $16.9 million, or $(1.54) per share. A reconciliation of special items to the financial results can be found in the financial tables of this press release.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "As we stated in our second quarter earnings call, we expected higher revenues and positive cash generation in the back half of 2016, both of which are reflected in our third quarter results.  Our revenues for the third quarter exceeded our total revenues for the first half of the year, driven in part by our Ocean Bottom Services (OBS) crew going back to work and by a sizable increase in multi-client data library sales spread across our geographically diverse portfolio.

"Our $12 million of income from operations during the quarter represents the first time since second quarter 2014 that we have been profitable at the operating income line. This indicates that the $95 million of annual savings from our cost reduction initiatives has rightsized our business to reflect current market conditions.

"With a significant improvement in our third quarter Adjusted EBITDA, our year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA became positive. Also, during the quarter we generated positive net cash flows, a significant improvement over the cash we consumed a year ago. We expect this momentum to carry into the fourth quarter, driven in part by normal year-end spending on data libraries by our customers.

"During the third quarter, we successfully completed our OBS survey offshore Nigeria. Our overall performance on this survey exceeded our own expectations, especially given that our crew and vessels had been stacked for almost a year, a strong testament to the dedication and experience of our OBS crew and management. At the completion of the project, we cold-stacked our crew and vessels while we actively pursue tenders for longer-term work in the region. We are starting to see signs of recovery in the OBS market and believe we are well positioned for our crew to go back to work in the near-term."

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Revenues of $36.2 million, compared to last years same quarter of $36.8 million.
• Net Income (loss) per share basic and diluted was $(2.22) vs. last years same quarter of $5.11.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The year is unfolding as we initially expected.  We've had a slow start but anticipate revenues increasing as the year progresses.  We're beginning to see early signs of a recovery, indicating the down cycle may have reached its bottom.

"Looking to the second half of the year, we anticipate our revenues will increase in part from the completion of our OBS survey offshore Nigeria, our continued work on our industry-funded new venture programs in the southern Gulf of Mexico, and traditional behavior of spending on data libraries in the fourth quarter.

"During the second quarter, we mobilized our ocean bottom crew and vessels and began acquisition on a survey offshore Nigeria.   We expect completion of the data acquisition in the third quarter and are very pleased with the production and data quality we and our customer are seeing.  We continue to work on two tenders with other customers in the region and hope to mobilize to these projects toward the end of the year.  Although we expect a short gap in timing between projects, we have demonstrated our ability to quickly ramp down and up our crew and vessels, minimizing our cash burn between projects.

"Our total cash consumption for the first half of the year was in line with our expectations given our slow start, the ramp up of our OBS crew and vessels and our use of cash to complete the debt exchange in late April.  We expect that with the anticipated increase in revenues during the third and fourth quarters, we will generate positive cash flows in the second half of the year, and we expect our revolving credit facility availability to increase based on higher levels of accounts receivables.

"Despite our first half financial results, we are pleased to have our OBS crew back at work and to have completed our financial restructurings.  We expect our second half to be stronger than the first, and we believe our current liquidity, coupled with our operational and financial restructurings, will enable us to maintain our core capabilities as we continue to weather this deep industry downturn."

First quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Revenues $22.7 million vs. last years same quarter of $40.6 million.
• Net loss of $35.0 million, or $(3.30) per share, on revenues of $22.7 million, compared to a net loss of $55.3 million, or $(5.04) per share, on revenues of $40.6 million in first quarter 2015.  Excluding special items reported one year ago, the Company's first quarter 2015 adjusted net loss was $51.5 million, or $(4.70) per share.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We expected our first quarter results to be our weakest, with our revenues down approximately 44% compared to our first quarter 2015.  Despite this very low revenue quarter, our 2015 cost reduction initiatives resulted in first quarter cash from operations of $2.5 million, compared to $(6.7) million a year ago.

"In April, we implemented additional cost saving initiatives, further reducing our current workforce by over 12%.  While extremely difficult, we believe these steps were needed to further streamline our organization and rightsize our company to be in line with our current revenues.  We have maintained the necessary core capabilities to continue operations and to progress our strategic initiatives. These reductions will produce approximately $15 million in annualized savings, an estimated $9 million in 2016, on top of the $80 million in savings from our initiatives last year.

"On a very positive note, as we announced yesterday, we are about to begin mobilizing our ocean bottom vessels and crew to conduct an OBS survey offshore Nigeria.  A letter of commitment for the project has been issued by an International Oil Company, and we expect the contract to be finalized within the next few weeks. We expect to begin acquiring data in late June or early July, and to complete full demobilization by late in the third quarter.  Our technology is well suited for additional opportunities in Nigeria and West Africa, and we continue to pursue active tenders and leads for projects in the area. We remain optimistic about our ability to keep the crew deployed upon completion of this project.

"Our first quarter Systems and Software segment revenues were indicative of the low capacity utilization among our installed base of equipment and of vessels utilizing our command and control software.  Our Solutions data processing revenues were very low due in part because we did not receive final sales orders under a significant data processing master contract by quarter end.  We expect our data processing revenues to increase through the remainder of the year as we receive these final sales orders.  Also, similar to last year, we expect our Solutions new venture and data library revenues to be stronger in the second half of the year, as our customers are just now locking in their budgets for 2016 and are assessing the impact of the recent increase in oil prices.

"In late April, we completed our bond exchange offer, retiring $26 million in principal value of our $175 million high yield bonds, using $15 million of our cash.  We extended the maturity of $121 million of our outstanding debt until the end of 2021, providing us with additional flexibility and liquidity and putting us in a better position to execute our strategic and operating plans in 2016 and for years to come.  As part of the Exchange Offer, we increased the interest rate on the new bonds by 1%, to 9.125%, and issued 1,205,477 of our common shares, utilizing 508,464 of our treasury shares.  We previously repurchased 451,791 shares, pursuant to our stock repurchase program, which effectively reduces the ultimate dilution attributable to the issuance of the 1,205,477 shares.

"Despite this very slow start to the year, we are pleased with our OBS crew going back to work and the completion of our financial restructurings.  We expect our second half to be stronger than the first, and we believe our current liquidity, coupled with our further operational and financial restructurings, will enable us to maintain our core capabilities and to continue to weather this deep economic storm."

HOUSTON, April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the successful completion of the previously announced exchange offer (the "Exchange Offer") and consent solicitation (the "Consent Solicitation") related to the Company's outstanding 8.125% Senior Secured Second Priority Notes due 2018 (the "Existing Notes").

President and CEO Brian Hanson commented, "We are very pleased with the success of the exchange offer and the support we received from our bondholders. Almost 84% of the outstanding Existing Notes were tendered and accepted by the Company in the exchange. The exchange de-levered our balance sheet by $25,934,000 million and extended the maturity of $120,569,000 million of our outstanding debt until the end of 2021, providing us with additional flexibility and liquidity and putting us in a position where we are better able to execute our strategic and operating plans in 2016 and for years to come.  This is a positive step forward for ION, helping to align the business with the current market environment and positioning the business for the future."

Under the terms of the Exchange Offer, for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes validly tendered for exchange and not validly withdrawn by an eligible holder (an "Exchange Participant") prior to 11:59 P.M., New York City Time, on April 25, 2016, and accepted for exchange by the Company, the Company offered the consideration (the "Exchange Consideration") of (i) $1,000 principal amount of the Company's new 9.125% Senior Secured Second Priority Notes due 2021 (the "New Notes") plus (ii) either (a) for Existing Notes tendered at or prior to 4:59 P.M., New York City Time, on Friday, April 15, 2016 (the "Extended Early Tender Deadline"), ten (10) shares of the Company's common stock (the "Early Stock Consideration"), or (b) for Existing Notes tendered after the Extended Early Tender Deadline, seven (7) shares of the Company's common stock (the "Stock Consideration") (such shares issued as the Early Stock Consideration or the Stock Consideration, together with the New Notes, the "New Securities"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Company's confidential Offer to Exchange and related Letter of Transmittal, each dated March 28, 2016 (the "Offer Documents").

As part of the Exchange Offer, each Exchange Participant had the opportunity to tender all or a portion of its Existing Notes for a cash payment in lieu of the Exchange Consideration upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer Documents (the "Cash Tender Option"). The aggregate amount of cash consideration that could be paid by the Company for tendered Existing Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Cash Tender Option was $15.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the settlement date of the Exchange Offer (collectively, the "Cash Tender Cap").

Concurrently with the Exchange Offer, the Company solicited consents from Exchange Participants to proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Existing Notes (the "Proposed Amendments"). The Proposed Amendments, among other things, provide for the release of the second priority security interest in the collateral securing the Existing Notes and the grant of a third priority security interest in the collateral, subordinate to liens securing all first and second priority indebtedness of the Company, including the Company's revolving credit facility and the New Notes, and eliminate substantially all of the restrictive covenants, modify the covenants regarding mergers and consolidation and eliminate certain events of default pertaining to the Existing Notes.

The Exchange Offer, including the Cash Tender Option, and the Consent Solicitation expired at 11:59 P.M., New York City time, on April 25, 2016.  In total, the Company accepted for exchange $146,503,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes, or approximately 84% of the $175,000,000 outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes. The Existing Notes were validly tendered and accepted by the Company in the exchange as follows:

Option
Aggregate Amount of
Existing Notes Tendered
and Accepted by the
Company
Approximate Percentage
of Outstanding Existing
Notes
Early Tender Exchange Consideration (New Notes and Early Stock Consideration)
$120,498,000
68.86%
Non-Early Tender Exchange Consideration (New Notes and Stock Consideration)
$71,000
0.04%
Cash Tender Option
$25,934,000
14.82%
Total
$146,503,000
83.72%
 

Because the Company received the necessary consents to effect the Proposed Amendments, any Existing Notes not validly tendered pursuant to the Exchange Offer remain outstanding and the holders are subject to the terms of the indenture governing the Existing Notes as amended by the first supplemental indenture implementing the Proposed Amendments.  No consideration was paid to holders of Existing Notes in connection with the Consent Solicitation. After giving effect to the Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation, the aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes remaining outstanding is $28,497,000 as of April 28, 2016, and such Existing Notes are secured by a third priority security interest in the collateral, subordinate to the liens securing all first and second priority indebtedness of the Company, including under the Company's revolving credit facility and New Notes.

In exchange for $120,569,000 in aggregate principal amount of Existing Notes, the Company issued $120,569,000 aggregate principal amount of its New Notes and 1,205,477 shares of the Company's common stock, including 1,204,980 shares issued as Early Stock Consideration and 497 shares issued as Stock Consideration. Such New Securities were issued by the Company in reliance on an exemption from registration set forth in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Company received no cash consideration in exchange for the issuance of the New Securities.

The Company utilized 508,464 treasury shares towards the total 1,205,477 shares issued by the Company pursuant to the Exchange Offer.  The Company has previously repurchased 451,791 shares pursuant to its stock repurchase program, which the Company believes will effectively reduce the ultimate dilution attributable to the Company's issuance of 1,205,477 shares pursuant to the Exchange Offer.

The Cash Tender Option was fully subscribed. Pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Offer, the Company accepted for purchase tendered Existing Notes at the lowest bid prices until the Cash Tender Cap was reached, subject to proration. In exchange for aggregate cash consideration totaling $15 million, the Company purchased $25,934,000 in aggregate principal amount of Existing Notes. The Company also paid in cash accrued and unpaid interest on Existing Notes accepted for purchase in the Exchange Offer from the applicable last interest payment date to, but not including, April 28, 2016.

The New Securities issued by the Company have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.  In addition, the shares of the Company's common stock issued pursuant to the Exchange Offer are not transferrable for 90 days from the date of issuance, subject to certain exceptions.  This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase securities or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities, nor does it constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.

HOUSTON, March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (the "Company") (IO) today announced the commencement of an exchange offer (the "Exchange Offer") related to the Company's outstanding 8.125% Senior Secured Second Priority Notes due 2018 (the "Existing Notes"). The Company is offering to exchange any and all of the Existing Notes held by eligible holders. The Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation are part of a transaction regarding the Company's entry into a support agreement (the "Support Agreement") with holders of its Existing Notes that collectively hold more than two-thirds of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Existing Notes (the "Supporting Noteholders").

Under the terms of the Exchange Offer, for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes validly tendered for exchange and not validly withdrawn by an eligible holder (an "Exchange Participant") prior to the Expiration Date (as defined below), and accepted for exchange by the Company, the Company will pay on the Settlement Date (as defined below) the consideration (the "Exchange Consideration") of (i) $1,000 principal amount of the Company's new 9.125% Senior Secured Second Priority Notes due 2021 (the "New Notes") plus (ii) either (a) for Existing Notes tendered at or prior to 11:59 P.M., New York City Time, on the Early Tender Date (as defined below), ten (10) shares of the Company's common stock (the "Early Stock Consideration"), and (b) for Existing Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date, seven (7) shares of the Company's common stock (the "Stock Consideration") (such shares issued as the Early Stock Consideration or the Stock Consideration, together with the New Notes, the "New Securities"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Company's confidential Offer to Exchange and related Letter of Transmittal, each dated March 28, 2016 (the "Offer Documents").

In connection with the Exchange Offer, the Company is also offering to utilize up to $15.0 million of cash to purchase Existing Notes of an Exchange Participant that elects to tender such Existing Notes (as further described below) for cash at substantial discount to par to reduce the aggregate amount of the Existing Notes. In addition, concurrently with the Exchange Offer, the Company is soliciting consents (the "Consent Solicitation") from eligible holders to proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Existing Notes (the "Proposed Amendments"). The Proposed Amendments would, among other things, provide for the release of the second priority security interest in the collateral securing the Existing Notes and the grant of a third priority security interest in the collateral, subordinate to liens securing all senior and second priority indebtedness of the Company, including the Company's revolving credit facility and the New Notes, and eliminate substantially all of the restrictive covenants and certain events of default pertaining to the Existing Notes.  No consideration is being paid to holders of Existing Notes in connection with the Consent Solicitation. The aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes outstanding as of March 28, 2016 is $175 million.

Pursuant to the Support Agreement in respect of the Exchange Offer, each Supporting Noteholder party thereto has agreed, in accordance with and subject to the terms of the Support Agreement to, among other things, tender all of its holdings of Existing Notes in the Exchange Offer and vote all of its holdings of Existing Notes in favor of the Proposed Amendments.  The Supporting Noteholders are eligible to participate in the Cash Tender Option (defined below) if they elect to do so.  In connection with the commencement of the Exchange Offer, the Support Agreement was amended to contemplate revisions to the terms and conditions of the Exchange Offer to (i) provide for the release of the second priority security interest in the collateral securing the Existing Notes and the grant of a third priority security interest in the collateral, subordinate to liens securing all senior and second priority indebtedness of the Company, including the Company's credit facility and the New Notes, rather than the elimination of the security interest in the collateral securing the Existing Notes, (ii) reduce the number of shares of the Company's common stock issuable in exchange for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes from ten (10) shares to seven (7) shares, (iii) provide for an early tender payment of an additional three (3) shares of the Company's common stock for each $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes validly exchanged prior to the Early Tender Date and (iv) provide a one business day extension of the time periods to commence and close the Exchange Offer.

As part of the Exchange Offer, each Exchange Participant may tender all or a portion of its Existing Notes for a cash payment in lieu of the Exchange Consideration upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer Documents (the "Cash Tender Option"). The aggregate amount of cash consideration to be paid by the Company for tendered Existing Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the Cash Tender Option is $15.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the Settlement Date (the "Cash Tender Cap"). The cash prices for the Cash Tender Option will be determined pursuant to an unmodified "Dutch auction" process by which Exchange Participants electing to participate in the Cash Tender Option submit a bid that identifies the principal amount of Existing Notes and the price (not less than $430 and not more than $600 per $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes) at which such Exchange Participant is willing to tender all or a portion of the tendered Existing Notes to the Company (a "Bid Price"). The Company will accept for purchase tendered Existing Notes at the lowest Bid Prices until the Cash Tender Cap is reached, subject to proration.

Eligible holders of Existing Notes accepted for exchange will also receive a cash payment equal to the accrued and unpaid interest in respect of such Existing Notes from the applicable most recent interest payment date to, but not including, the Settlement Date.  Interest on the New Notes will accrue from the Settlement Date.

In order to participate in the Exchange Offer, a holder of Existing Notes must tender all of its Existing Notes in the Exchange Offer.

The Exchange Offer, including the Cash Tender Option, will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on April 25, 2016, unless extended by the Company (the "Expiration Date").  In order to be eligible to receive the Early Stock Consideration, Exchange Participants must tender their Existing Notes on or prior to 11:59 P.M. New York City Time, on April 11, 2016 (such time and date, as it may be extended, the "Early Tender Date"), unless such deadline is extended by the Company. Tenders of Existing Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offer may be validly withdrawn, and the related consents delivered pursuant to the Consent Solicitation may be validly revoked at any time prior to the Expiration Date but not thereafter. Participants in the Cash Tender Option may withdraw or modify their Bid Price at any time prior to the Expiration Date, in which case they still will be deemed to be Exchange Participants, and their tender of Existing Notes still will be deemed to include their consent to the Proposed Amendments unless such withdrawal specifically states that they are also withdrawing the tendered Existing Notes from the Exchange Offer. A valid withdrawal of tendered Existing Notes prior to the Expiration Date will be deemed a valid revocation of the related consent, and the holder of such Existing Notes will not be entitled to receive the Exchange Consideration or cash payment under the Cash Tender Option, as applicable.

HOUSTON, March 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that it has acquired Global Dynamics Incorporated (GDI), an Ontario-based company that designs and develops marine towing systems and equipment, including its proprietary SailWing technology.  ION plans to leverage SailWing technology to develop and sell commercial products for both source control and streamer deployment optimization in the towed streamer segment and to commercialize SailWings for use by its OceanGeo ocean bottom seismic (OBS) acquisition company.

SailWings offer an innovative foil-based alternative to conventional marine diverters, with multiple patents pending.  SailWing configurations can be employed to optimize towed source arrays and augment towed streamer deployment systems, yielding significantly less drag, faster towing, improved fuel efficiency, and safer operations through their flexible and smaller footprint.  As a result, seismic contractors should be able to acquire surveys faster and at a lower cost.

ION President and CEO Brian Hanson commented, "Over the last few years, we have licensed SailWings for several novel applications, including under-ice towing and for source array optimization for ocean bottom surveys, with impressive results.  We have already filed our own IP improvements around this technology platform, which ultimately led to our acquisition of the technology to provide additional offerings for our revitalized towed streamer devices business and to further differentiate our OceanGeo ocean bottom business. In the current market environment, offering solutions to our towed streamer devices customers that help them improve their efficiency, while giving ourselves a unique ability to expedite ocean bottom surveys, is an attractive proposition."

Dan Martin, Founder and President of GDI, added, "I have enjoyed a close working relationship with ION over the past few years as they developed some novel commercial applications for our technology.  I am excited to now be part of ION, and to continue the collaboration to create multiple SailWing applications. I believe we can significantly improve on the longstanding manner with which the industry has deployed, towed, and retrieved marine sources, cables, and streamer systems."

Item 1.01     Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

Support Agreement

On February 26, 2016, ION Geophysical Corporation (the “Company”) entered into an agreement (the “Support Agreement”) with certain holders of the Company’s Existing Notes (as defined below) (collectively, the “Supporting Noteholders”). A copy of the Support Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1. The Supporting Noteholders and their respective affiliates, including certain private funds and accounts they manage, hold, in the aggregate, over two-thirds of the principal amount of the Company’s outstanding 8.125% Senior Secured Second Priority Notes due 2018 (the “Existing Notes”) issued pursuant to that certain Indenture, dated as of May 13, 2013, among the Company, Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee, U.S. Bank National Association, as collateral agent and the subsidiary guarantors named therein (the “Existing Notes Indenture”).

The Support Agreement contemplates the Company pursuing the following potential transactions:

• commencing a private exchange offer for any and all of the outstanding Existing Notes (the “Exchange Offer”), pursuant to which each eligible holder of the Existing Notes will have the right to exchange all of its Existing Notes for consideration consisting of, for each $1,000 of principal amount of the Existing Notes validly exchanged and not validly withdrawn, (x) $1,000 in principal amount of 9.125% new senior secured second priority notes due 2021 to be issued by the Company and (y) ten shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share; and

• in connection with the Exchange Offer, soliciting consents in a consent solicitation from holders of the Existing Notes to certain amendments to the Existing Notes Indenture, including, among other things, releasing all of the collateral securing the Existing Notes and related guarantees and eliminating most of the covenants and events of default.

In addition, the Company will provide each eligible participant who validly tenders all of its Existing Notes in the Exchange Offer the option to tender all or a portion of its Existing Notes so tendered for cash (the "Cash Tender Option") subject to, among other things, a maximum aggregate amount of cash payable of $15.0 million plus accrued and unpaid interest through and excluding the closing date of the Exchange Offer. The pricing for the Cash Tender Option will be determined pursuant to a "Dutch auction" in which eligible participants electing to participate in the Cash Tender Option will specify the price for each $1,000 of principal amount of the Existing Notes (not greater than $600 nor less than $430 per $1,000 of principal amount of the Existing Notes) at which such eligible participant is willing to tender its Existing Notes.

Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement, the Supporting Noteholders have agreed to (i) tender all of the Existing Notes held by them and their respective affiliates in the proposed Exchange Offer and (ii) consent to the proposed amendments to the Existing Notes Indenture in the proposed consent solicitation.

The Support Agreement contains representations, warranties and agreements by the Company and the Supporting Noteholders. The Company’s and Supporting Noteholders' obligations under the Support Agreement are subject to various conditions set forth in the Support Agreement including, among others, that holders of the Existing Notes must tender Existing Notes and consents representing not less than 90% of the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Existing Notes, subject to the terms and conditions of the Support Agreement.

The Support Agreement will terminate upon the earliest of: (i) the mutual written consent of the parties; (ii) the valid withdrawal and termination of the Exchange Offer and consent solicitation; (iii) the consummation of the Exchange Offer and consent solicitation; (iv) the filing of a bankruptcy petition by or with respect to the Company or (v) the repayment by the Company of all of the outstanding Existing Notes. The Support Agreement may also be terminated upon the occurrence of certain events, including, among others: (A) if the closing of the contemplated transactions is not consummated on or before 50 business days following the execution of the Support Agreement; (B) if the Exchange Offer is not commenced on or before the date that is 20 business days following the execution of the Support Agreement and (C) the occurrence of a Material Adverse Effect (as such terms are defined in the Support Agreement).

There can be no assurance if or when the Company will consummate the Exchange Offer and the other transactions contemplated by the Support Agreement or the terms thereof. In particular, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to agree to final terms for the proposed Exchange Offer, that a sufficient amount of holders of the Existing Notes will tender in the proposed Exchange Offer, or that the Company will be able to satisfy the other conditions set forth in the Support Agreement. The Company will not receive any cash proceeds in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Support Agreement.

The foregoing description of the Support Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the form of Support Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Neither this Report nor the attached Support Agreement constitute an offer to purchase or sell any securities or the solicitation of an offer to exchange any Existing Notes or any other security, nor will there be any purchase, sale or exchange of any securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification of any such securities or offer under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. Consummation of the Exchange Offer is subject to, among other things, definitive documentation and any exchange offer for the Existing Notes will be made only pursuant to separate documentation. Holders of the Existing Notes and investors are urged to read the Company’s Exchange Offer documents, if and when they become available, because they will contain important information regarding the contemplated Exchange Offer.

Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

Adjusted net loss was $16.9 million, or $(0.10) per share, on revenues of $66.7 million, compared to a net loss of $24.5 million, or $(0.15) per share, on revenues of $106.5 million in third quarter 2014.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We indicated on our second quarter earnings call that we anticipated our third quarter revenues to be up over the first two quarters primarily as a result of beginning data acquisition on our industry-funded MexicoSPAN^TM program. We completed acquisition in late October and are currently processing the data. Our clients are very pleased with the quality of the fast track data we have delivered so far.

"However, the virtual shutdown in exploration spending continues to have a negative impact on all parts of our business, and we are managing through this downturn by employing strict cost controls and spending discipline. During the quarter, we reduced our employee headcount by an additional 25% and implemented additional cost control measures. A majority of the reductions occurred in September and therefore had minimal cash savings impact on our third quarter. Once complete later this year, these additional cost controls will yield an estimated $40 million in annualized savings. While we have taken out cost across the company, we have appropriately scaled our businesses to reflect our current revenue streams while still maintaining all of our core capabilities. Consistent with our asset light strategy, we are ready to scale up or down as business dictates.

"In light of the current economic environment, we were successful in amending our credit facility with PNC bank. The amended credit facility has improved financial covenants, and we had full availability on the maximum $40.0 million borrowing capacity at the end of September.

"Looking ahead, we believe that the exploration landscape in 2016, as it impacts our business, will be similar to 2015. Our objective during this period is to maintain our strategic capabilities and advance our key R&D initiatives while minimizing our cash burn. We believe we have moved quickly and cut deep, as we currently do not expect to see early signs of recovery in our area of the industry until 2017."

HOUSTON, Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (the "Company") (IO) today announced that its board of directors has authorized the Company to repurchase, from time to time from November 10, 2015 through November 10, 2017, up to $25 million in shares of its outstanding common stock.  The stock repurchase program may be implemented through open market repurchases or privately negotiated transactions, at management's discretion.  The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the program will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors including the market price of the Company's shares of common stock and general market and economic conditions, applicable legal requirements and compliance with the terms of the Company's outstanding indebtedness.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

ION announced on November 4, 2015 that its board of directors has authorized the Company to repurchase, from time to time from November 10, 2015 through November 10, 2017, up to $25 million in shares of its outstanding common stock. The stock repurchase program may be implemented through open market repurchases or privately negotiated transactions, at management’s discretion. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the program will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors including the market price of the Company’s shares of common stock and general market and economic conditions, applicable legal requirements and compliance with the terms of the Company’s outstanding indebtedness.

HOUSTON, Sept. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (the "Company") (IO) today announced an aggressive cost reduction initiative as part of an overall plan to align operating expenses with business conditions and recent declines in the current commodity price environment for crude oil and natural gas.  The Company believes this cost reduction program will more appropriately scale its operations to the current commodity price environment. 

The Company's business is a scalable, asset light business with the flexibility to expand and contract in response to changing market conditions.  The Company is adopting the aggressive cost reduction measures to reduce expenses to more closely align with the decreases in revenue experienced in the first half of the year.  The Company's ability to rapidly decrease expenses is a key part of the flexible, asset light strategy employed by the business and enables the Company to more effectively manage fluctuations in revenues like those experienced in the first half of 2015. The Company remains rapidly scalable to respond to changes in revenues.  When market conditions improve, the Company will be well positioned to efficiently grow to meet demand.

The cost reduction initiative is expected to result in an approximate 25% decrease in the Company's global workforce and is expected to be substantially completed by September 30, 2015.  The Company expects to incur $5-6 million in termination costs, all of which are expected to require cash expenditures, and the majority of which are expected to be incurred in the current fiscal year.  The Company will provide additional details of these charges when it reports its results for the third quarter of 2015 later this year.

In connection with this plan, the Company expects to reduce annual operating costs by approximately $40 million. Such cost savings will consist primarily of payroll reductions and reductions in discretionary spending associated with a smaller workforce, as well as additional cost control measures.  When combined with the cost savings undertaken since December of 2014, the Company will have achieved a total estimated annual savings of $80 million and a 50% reduction in its workforce.  The cost savings initiatives were across all groups within the Company, but the Company is maintaining key capabilities in all its groups, including Ocean Bottom, and its readiness to rescale the business as revenues increase.

"The difficult cost reduction initiative we are undertaking today is necessary to prudently scale the Company during this period of significantly decreased revenues, which we believe will extend into 2017," Brian Hanson, the Chief Executive Officer for the Company commented.  "We are an asset light company and have the ability to adjust our cost structure to align with revenue levels. When commodity prices and consequently the business's revenues recover, we will rescale our workforce to meet the demand."

HOUSTON, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) and the Puntland Petroleum Minerals Agency (PPMA) announced that the PPMA has awarded ION a contract to acquire 8,000 kilometers of seismic data covering the entire Somalia Puntland offshore margin. The regional 2D multi-client survey, known as PuntlandSPANTM, is being conducted to support a future license round initiative and to assist the E&P industry in gaining a better understanding of the architecture of the sedimentary basin and the hydrocarbon potential of this unexplored offshore margin. Data acquisition is expected to begin in fourth quarter 2015.

In addition, the PPMA today announced the demarcation of its offshore territory into 25 exploration blocks covering 180,000 square kilometers of the Somalia Puntland seaboard.  In total, there are seven Blocks in the Gulf of Aden and 18 Blocks in the Indian Ocean that have been defined.  Block sizes range from 5,000 square kilometers in the inshore area to 25,000 square kilometers in the deeper water.

Dr. Issa Farah, the Director of the PPMA, commented, "The creation of the Block scheme is an important milestone in the development of oil and gas exploration within the jurisdiction of the autonomous State of Puntland. The PPMA is pleased to announce the availability of these blocks and looks forward to engaging with the industry to discuss their plans for the region."

Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's Ventures group, added, "We are very pleased to assist the PMAA in demarcating a block boundary scheme, which heralds an important step in their preparation for future licensing rounds offshore Puntland. The acquisition of the PuntlandSPAN data will provide valuable insight into the petroleum prospectivity of the region, and we are pleased to be a part of this ground-breaking program."

HOUSTON, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) and the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) today announced that the TPDC has awarded ION a contract to acquire 4,058 km of 2D seismic, gravity and magnetic data over offshore blocks 4/1B and 4/1C in the Rovuma Delta region. The award follows an international tender, number PA/031/2014-15/W/06, for a 2D multi-client survey, to be known as 'TPDC Phase I 2015', that is planned to be acquired in fourth quarter 2015.

"We are very excited on the commencement of this program, which is part of a broader campaign aimed at adding value to all of TPDC assets, both onshore and offshore," Dr James Mataragio, Managing Director of TPDC, commented. "This survey and three other surveys carried onshore are 100% funded by TPDC. This marks an important step for TPDC, as a National Oil Company, to begin fully focusing on exploration, development and production. Blocks 4/1B and 4/1C are 100% owned and operated by TPDC, and this new seismic data will be used to assist TPDC with a competitive farmout process, details of which will be announced at a later date."

Joe Gagliardi, Senior Vice President of ION's Ventures group, added, "ION is delighted to have been awarded this contract, which represents a further phase of seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation services to be provided by ION in support of the government's hydrocarbon exploration strategy."

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

NEOS GeoSolutions, Inc. and ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced that NEOS has acquired  for cash and other consideration IONs Denver land seismic data processing operation. The addition of this business line expands NEOSs multi-physics service lines to now include seismic data processing and imaging. The rest of ION�s data processing business, including IONs land data processing capabilities in support of its 3D ResSCAN^TM land programs, is unaffected by this transaction.

ION�s Denver processing group has completed nearly 400 subsurface imaging projects since 2003 for customers that include some of the largest international and independent E&P companies in the world. The Denver team specializes in �hard rock� processing in structurally complex geologic environments ranging from Bolivia to the North Slope of Alaska.

Jim Hollis, President and CEO of NEOS, commented, We are delighted to welcome IONs Denver land data processing group to NEOS. During my career, I�ve had the pleasure of working with many on their team and I can�t think of a more talented group than the twenty seismic imaging professionals that will be coming over to NEOS. The addition of a seismic imaging offering to our toolkit clearly supports our strategy of offering a portfolio of best-in-class multi-physics, subsurface imaging solutions to our global customer base. We�ll now have the capability to process, integrate and simultaneously interpret both seismic and non-seismic geo-datasets to render the most complete �basement-to-surface� images in the industry.

Jonathan Faiman, Executive Chairman of NEOS, added, This is the first of what we believe will be many transactions to enhance our portfolio of natural resource exploration products, services and solutions. The near-term fall-off in capital spending in the global resources sector provides us with a unique opportunity to capture assets that support our strategy. I couldn�t be more excited about having supported Jim and his management team to make the first strategic acquisition in the history of NEOS.

Brian Hanson, President and CEO of ION, concluded by saying, Our Denver team has made many significant contributions to IONs data processing business over the years, as well as to our multi-client data library. Our current imaging services strategy is based on efficient centralization of computing capacity and technical expertise at our primary hubs in Houston and London, while using the latest private cloud-based portal technology and locally deployed regional geoscience experts to support our global customer base. We are pleased that agreements related to this transaction will allow ION to continue working closely with NEOS�s new Denver data processing team, as NEOS has agreed to license our data processing toolkit. I wish the team all the best of success under Jim�s leadership at NEOS, and look forward to seeing them thrive as an integral part of a new E&P solution.

HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (the "Company") (IO) today announced that it received notice on August 11, 2015 from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that the price of its common stock fell below the NYSE's continued listing standards. The NYSE requires the average closing price of a listed company's common stock remain above $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.  As of August 7, 2015, the 30 trading-day period average closing price of the Company's common stock was $0.98 per share.

In accordance with NYSE rules, the Company will respond to the NYSE within 10 business days of receipt of the notification with its intent to resolve the deficiency. The Company has six months to regain compliance with the NYSE continued listing requirements and will actively monitor its stock price and evaluate all available options in order to regain compliance within the prescribed time frame.

During the six-month period, the Company's common stock will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE, subject to compliance with other continued listing standards. The deficiency does not affect the Company's ongoing business operations or its SEC reporting requirements

Item 1.01.    Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On August 4, 2015, ION Geophysical Corporation (the “Company”) and its material U.S. subsidiaries, ION Exploration Production (U.S.A.), Inc., I/O Marine Systems, Inc. and GX Technology Corporation (collectively, the “Subsidiary Borrowers” and together with the Company, the “Borrowers”), amended the terms of their senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”). The First Amendment to Revolving Credit and Security Agreement dated effective as of August 3, 2015 (the “First Amendment”) modified certain provisions of the revolving credit and security agreement dated as of August 22, 2014, among the Borrowers, the lenders party thereto and PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC”), as agent for the lenders.

The original provisions of the Credit Facility provided for a revolving line of credit of up to $80.0 million in total borrowings outstanding (including outstanding letter of credit obligations), subject to a borrowing base. The original revolving credit and security agreement also required that the Company not exceed a maximum senior secured leverage ratio (defined as the ratio of (x) total senior funded debt to (y) the Company’s EBITDA) of 3.0 to 1 as of the end of each fiscal quarter.

The terms of the First Amendment contemplated PNC becoming the sole lender under the Credit Facility and, among other things:
 
• the reduction of the maximum amount of the revolving line of credit under the Credit Facility from $80.0 million to $40.0 million,
 
• the elimination of the requirement to maintain a maximum senior secured leverage ratio,
 
• the elimination of qualified cash from the borrowing base calculation under the Credit Facility,
 
• the addition of a percentage of the net orderly liquidation value of the Company’s multi-client data library to the borrowing base calculation under the Credit Facility (not to exceed $15.0 million),
 
• the removal of the accordion features under the Credit Facility for both the revolving line of credit and the last out term loan,
 
• the reduction of the unbilled receivables sublimit under the Credit Facility from $45.0 million to $25.0 million,
 
• an increase in the interest rates under the Credit Facility,
 
• an unused line fee of 0.75% per annum with no adjustment based on usage, and
 
• the approval of the sale of certain domestic data library programs.

The Company will continue to be subject to the requirement under the Credit Facility to maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.1 to 1 as of the end of each fiscal quarter during the existence of a covenant testing trigger event. The fixed charge coverage ratio is defined as the ratio of (i) the Company’s EBITDA, minus unfunded capital expenditures made during the relevant period, minus distributions (including tax distributions) and dividends made during the relevant period, minus cash taxes paid during the relevant period, to (ii) certain debt payments made during the relevant period. A covenant testing trigger event occurs upon (a) the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under the Credit Facility or (b) the failure to maintain certain measures of liquidity specified in the Credit Facility.

Both immediately before and after giving effect to the First Amendment, there was no outstanding indebtedness under the Credit Facility. As amended pursuant to the First Amendment, the borrowing base under the Credit Facility will increase or decrease monthly using an amended formula based on certain eligible receivables, eligible inventory and other amounts, including a percentage of the net orderly liquidation value of the Company’s multi-client data library (not to exceed $15.0 million for the multi-client data library data component). The amended formula also removes the qualified cash component of up to $20.0 million. In connection with the First Amendment, an updated independent appraisal (including with respect to the Company’s multi-client data library) is being obtained, which will be used in the borrowing base formula determination.

As amended pursuant to the First Amendment, the interest rates per annum on borrowings under the Credit Facility are now, at the Company’s option, (i) an alternate base rate equal to the highest of (a) the prime rate of PNC Bank, (b) a federals funds effective rate plus 0.50% or (c) a LIBOR-based rate plus 1.0%, plus an applicable interest margin of 2.50% (increased from 1.50%), or (ii) a LIBOR-based rate, plus an applicable interest margin of 3.50% (increased from 2.50%).

In addition, the First Amendment eliminated the $50,000 annual agency fee and provided for an amendment fee of $40,000.

The foregoing description of the First Amendment does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the First Amendment, a copy of which is filed as an Exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

HOUSTON, TX - July 2, 2015 - ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that on July 2, 2015, a panel of justices on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. reversed in part and affirmed in part the patent infringement judgment against ION in favor of WesternGeco granted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in May 2014.

As previously disclosed by the Company, WesternGeco filed the lawsuit, styled WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical Corporation, in June 2009, alleging that ION’s DigiFIN™ lateral streamer control system infringed numerous method and apparatus claims contained in patents held by WesternGeco U.S. for marine seismic streamer steering devices. In May 2014, the United States District Court entered final judgment in favor of WesternGeco and ordered ION to pay $123.8 million in damages, prejudgment interest and costs to WesternGeco, plus post-judgment interest. ION appealed the judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.

On July 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. reversed in part the judgment, holding the district court erred by including lost profits in the final judgment. Lost profits were $93.4 million and prejudgment interest was approximately $10.9 million of the $123.8 million final judgment. Pre-judgment interest on the lost profits portion of the final judgment will be treated in the same way as the lost profits. Post-judgment interest will likewise be treated in the same fashion. The opinion is not a final judgment of the Court of Appeals until the mandate issues and could be subject to further proceedings.

Brian Hanson, ION President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased with the decision of the Court of Appeals to reverse the decision of the trial court on lost profits, and ION will continue to vigorously defend its rights. We are confident that when the mandate of the Federal Circuit issues, ION will have a substantial reduction of the May 2014 judgment, leaving an estimated judgment of only $20-24 million.

“We consider the elimination of the lost profits damages to be a total victory for our Company. This case has been an overhang on our business for far too long, and we are glad to have the focus returned to our core business and its continued success as we move forward.”
 
“The real winners of today’s verdict are our shareholders, who have long suffered from the erosion of value caused by this case. We are excited to get back to our business and to continue to build on this success. While this has been a long and arduous process, we feel it is close to a successful end.”

2014 Fourth Quarter Financial Results:

• Revenues were $136.8 million in this quarter, an decrease of 37.4% from $218.7 million in the same period last year.
• Net loss was $11.0 million, or EPS of -$0.07, vs net income of $53.4 million, or EPS of $0.33 in the same period last year.

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our fourth quarter and full year results were significantly impacted by the continued slowdown in exploration spending by E&P companies.  The slowdown has been greater than we originally expected, but our decision over a year ago to conservatively manage our business has been evident through our ability to generate positive cash flows throughout 2014.  While managing for cash, we have narrowed our focus and continue to strategically invest in high potential technologies.

"During the fourth quarter we initiated a restructuring plan to rightsize our segments, with the exception of our Ocean Bottom Services segment, reducing our workforce by approximately 10%.  This reduction should result in an annual cash savings of approximately $15 million.  This restructuring is a significant move to better integrate and align our entire workforce with our strategy of providing solutions directly to E&P companies.

"In light of the expected prolonged slowdown, we recorded several charges that impacted our fourth quarter results.  These charges included a write-down of data library investments associated with our Arctic and onshore North America programs, and a full impairment of goodwill associated with our marine equipment operations.  Also, we wrote down our investment in INOVA Geophysical and are evaluating strategic options related to our ongoing participation in the joint venture.

"We are pleased with our continued penetration into the ocean bottom services market through OceanGeo.  Our investment in and success with OceanGeo and ocean bottom services has positioned us to participate in the less volatile production phase of seismic activity.  During the fourth quarter, OceanGeo completed acquisition of a survey offshore West Africa and was awarded and completed another survey in an adjacent area with a new customer.  During 2014, as we increased our ownership in OceanGeo to 100%, we upgraded our vessels for more efficient operations.  OceanGeo is ready to take advantage of continued demand for ocean bottom seismic, especially in West Africa, where demand is especially high.

"Looking ahead, we expect 2015 exploration budgets across the E&P industry to be down an estimated 25% to 35% compared to 2014. Consistent with 2014, we will continue to maximize cash and to exercise spending discipline across all of our businesses, funding new programs once we have obtained adequate levels of industry underwriting and continuing to invest in key strategic technologies and market opportunities."

HOUSTON, Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (IO) today announced the resignation of its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Greg Heinlein, who is leaving the Company to pursue other interests.  ION has named Steve Bate as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Bate was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION's Systems division.

Mr. Bate joined ION in 2005 as Chief Financial Officer for the Company's Solutions business.  In 2007, he became Senior Vice President of ION's Sensor business, and in 2009, his role broadened to include leadership of ION's Land Imaging Systems division.  Following the formation in March 2010 of INOVA Geophysical, ION's joint venture with BGP, Mr. Bate was appointed INOVA's first President and Chief Executive Officer and served in that role for two and a half years. In 2013, Mr. Bate was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION's Systems division. Prior to joining ION, Mr. Bate was President of a $300 million residential construction company and founded his own consulting business to help lead organizations through change.  Mr. Bate holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We thank Greg for his three years of service to ION.  During his tenure, we put into place several measures to ensure our continued financial strength, with a focus on managing expenses, generating positive free cash flow, and instilling a pragmatic approach to our investments.  Through Greg's efforts, we are well positioned moving forward, and we wish him success in his future endeavors.

"We are very pleased to promote Steve to Chief Financial Officer.  He brings to the role a well-rounded view of the geophysical business, having served in multiple leadership capacities within ION for over nine years.  He is a proven business and financial leader with over 30 years of broad experience and capabilities in multiple industries, including construction, technology, healthcare and oil & gas, in both private and public company environments. ION is in a period of growth and transformation, and with his track record of leading organizations through change, Steve was the right choice to support that growth."

Mr. Bate added, "I am pleased to take on this new role, and I appreciate the vote of confidence from Brian, the ION Board of Directors and the rest of the ION senior leadership team.  Since I joined ION in 2005, I have watched the company strategically transform from a seismic equipment supplier to a global provider of integrated solutions to the world's leading E&P companies.  I am fortunate to have had a hand in that transformation, and I am looking forward to putting my business and financial expertise to work as ION's Chief Financial Officer to support the company's continued growth."

2014 Third Quarter Financial Results:

• Revenues this quarter was $106.5 million, an increase of 33.4% from $79.8 million in the same quarter last year.
• Net loss of $24.5 million, or $(0.15) per share, compared to a net loss of $202.1 million, or $(1.29) per share in the same quarter last year.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "As we anticipated, the continued slowdown in exploration spending had a significant impact on our third quarter and year-to-date base business results. Fortunately, our decision a year ago to focus more on production activities through OceanGeo, our Ocean Bottom Services segment, has helped cushion the weakness in other parts of our business.

"In light of this challenging environment, we are conservatively managing our business to generate positive cash flow and further strengthen our balance sheet. We have made significant progress during the third quarter in a couple key areas of strategic importance.

"First, we continued our penetration into the ocean bottom services market through OceanGeo. During the third quarter, we began acquisition on a three-month project offshore West Africa. We are currently negotiating with clients on potential extensions to this program, which should result in additional work in the fourth quarter. This is consistent with our strategy of putting this crew to work offshore West Africa, a growing market with significant tendering activities. We are currently participating in several large tenders, which, if awarded, would provide us with a backlog of longer-term projects.

"Also, in collaboration with Polarcus, we completed acquisition on a multi-client 3D seismic survey offshore Ireland. This was the first survey under our previously announced multi-year strategic alliance with Polarcus to jointly develop, execute and market 3D multi-client seismic programs globally. The survey was an industry funded opportunity in advance of an upcoming licensing round and represented a key opportunity for ION to enter the 3D multi-client market, a natural extension of our traditional 2D BasinSPANTM expertise. We see this market as a growth opportunity for us and are currently working to secure client commitments for additional 3D multi-client programs in other areas of the world.

"While we are pleased with our recent progress in execution of our key strategies, our outlook for the remainder of 2014 and into 2015 remains cautious. We plan to continue exercising spending discipline across all businesses, maximizing cash generation, funding new programs only when they have been adequately underwritten by our customers, while continuing to invest in key strategic technologies and market opportunities."

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

In this Current Report on Form 8-K, the terms “we,” “us” or “ION” refer to ION Geophysical Corporation, and where the context requires, ION Geophysical Corporation together with its consolidated subsidiaries.

On August 22, 2014, ION and its subsidiaries, ION Exploration Production (U.S.A.), Inc., I/O Marine Systems, Inc. and GX Technology Corporation (collectively, the “Subsidiary Borrowers” and together with ION, the “Borrowers”), entered into a new credit facility (the “New Facility”). The terms of the New Facility are set forth in a revolving credit and security agreement dated as of August 22, 2014, among the Borrowers, the lenders party thereto and PNC Bank, National Association, as agent for the lenders.

The New Facility modifies and replaces our prior syndicated credit facility under a credit agreement dated as of March 25, 2010, as amended, by and among ION, the subsidiary guarantors that are parties thereto and China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., New York Branch (“CMB”), as administrative agent and lender.

The revolving credit and security agreement contemplates maximum credit facilities of up to $175.0 million in the aggregate, consisting of (i) a revolving facility of up to $125.0 million, to which the lenders have committed $80.0 million as of the closing date of the New Facility and up to $45.0 million of which is subject to the implementation of certain accordion provisions (with availability under such revolving facility subject at all times to a borrowing base and other conditions to borrowing) and (ii) an uncommitted term facility in an aggregate amount of up to $50.0 million on terms to be mutually agreed at a later date and subject to receiving commitments of lenders to such term facility.

The borrowing base for revolving credit borrowings under the New Facility is calculated using a formula based on certain eligible receivables, eligible inventory and other amounts. In addition, the New Facility includes a $15.0 million sublimit for the issuance of documentary and standby letters of credit. As of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, no amounts were outstanding under the New Facility. We expect that any amounts drawn under the New Facility sooner than one year prior to the maturity of the New Facility (as described below) will be classified as long-term debt.

The New Facility is available for revolving credit borrowings to be used to pay fees and expenses related to the entry into the New Facility and to provide for our general corporate needs, including our working capital requirements, capital expenditures, surety deposits and acquisition financing.

Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results:

• Total revenues was 121.5 million, as compared to $120.9 million in the same quarter last year.
• Excluding the impact of the restructuring and special items, net income was a loss of $5 million, or -$0.03 per diluted share, as compared to adjusted net income of $0.4 million, or $0.00 for the same period last year.

Brian Hanson, ION's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Consistent with several of our industry peers, ION's second quarter results reflected a slowdown in exploration spending by major oil companies. Our revenues for the quarter were slightly above our second quarter 2013 revenues, as we benefited from the revenues contributed by OceanGeo from their project in Trinidad.  OceanGeo completed a five month acquisition project offshore Trinidad and was awarded another contract offshore West Africa.  This new award is for a duration of three months, beginning in late July, and is in an area where OceanGeo is pursuing several tenders for additional long-term work.  We are pleased that Calypso®, our next generation ocean bottom system, will be further deployed on OceanGeo's next survey.  In mid-July, we acquired the remaining ownership interest in OceanGeo, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of ION.

"Within our Solutions segment, revenues declined due to cautious exploration spending and underwriting of new projects by our clients.   We continue to maintain high standards for underwriting new projects and have delayed certain new venture programs from the first half of the year.  We now anticipate that our 2014 multi-client library investments will be in the range of $70 million to $90 million.

"Although revenues from our data processing business were up 3% in the first half of the year, we are seeing a slowdown in that area of our business.  Based on our backlog, we expect our data processing business to remain soft for the remainder of 2014, with revenues estimated to be between $25 million to $30 million per quarter.  We have taken measured actions to reduce our data processing cost structure during this period.

"On a positive note to the quarter, our Software business generated record revenues during the second quarter, due primarily to increases in Orca® and Gator® licensing revenues.

"We have made significant progress in our strategy of penetrating into the ocean bottom services market through our ownership in OceanGeo.  However, our outlook for the remainder of 2014 for all of ION remains cautious, and we will continue to maintain spending discipline across all businesses, maximizing cash generation, while still investing in key strategic technologies, and funding new programs only when they have been adequately underwritten by our customers."

Item 8.01.  Other Events.
 

On May 7, 2014, the presiding judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas signed and entered a Final Judgment in the previously-reported lawsuit of WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical Corporation, in the amount of $123,836,193.89. The final judgment is consistent with the Order issued by the Court on April 30, 2014, which ION Geophysical Corporation (the “Company”) disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2014.

Also, as previously described by the Company, the Final Judgment included an injunction that enjoins the Company, its servants, agents and anyone acting in concert with it, from supplying in or from the United States the DigiFIN® product or any parts unique to the DigiFIN product, or any instrumentality no more than colorably different from any of these products or parts, for combination outside of the United States. The Company has conducted its business in compliance with the Court’s orders in the case, and the Company has reorganized its operations such that it no longer supplies the DigiFIN product or any parts unique to the DigiFIN product in or from the United States.

As previously disclosed, the Company has taken a loss contingency accrual of $123.8 million related to this case. Additional interest will continue to accrue until this legal matter is fully resolved. The Company’s assessment of its potential loss contingency may change in the future due to developments in the case and other events, such as changes in applicable law, and such reassessment could lead to the determination that no loss contingency is probable or that a greater or lesser loss contingency is probable.

The Company intends to appeal the trial court’s Final Judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

ION Geophysical Corporation

EXCHANGE OFFER FOR

$175,000,000

8.125% SENIOR SECURED SECOND PRIORITY NOTES DUE 2018

AND RELATED GUARANTEES

 
The exchange offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 9, 2014 (the “expiration date”), unless we extend the exchange offer in our sole and absolute discretion.

We are offering to exchange up to $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 8.125% senior secured second priority notes due 2018 (the “Exchange Notes”), the issuance of each of which has been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), for up to $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of our outstanding 8.125% senior secured second priority notes due 2018 (the “Restricted Notes,” and together with the Exchange Notes, the “notes”) that have not been registered under the Securities Act. We are offering to exchange the Exchange Notes for the Restricted Notes in order to satisfy our obligations under the registration rights agreement that we entered into when the Restricted Notes were issued and sold in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act.

Item 4.01. Changes in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant.
   
(a)    Dismissal of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

On March 20, 2014, ION Geophysical Corporation (the “Company”) dismissed Ernst & Young LLP (“E&Y”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended December 31, 2014. The decision was recommended and approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”).
 
The reports of E&Y on the Company’s financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. The report of E&Y on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, was not qualified and did not contain an adverse opinion thereon.
 
During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 and through March 20, 2014, there were no disagreements as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions to Item 304 of Regulation S-K with E&Y on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of E&Y, would have caused E&Y to make reference thereto in its reports on the Company’s financial statements for such years.
 
During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 and through March 20, 2014, there were no “reportable events” as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K, except the Company reported a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, in Item 4 of the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q/A for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and the six months ended June 30, 2013, and in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2013. The material weakness related to the incorrect presentation of the investments in the Company’s SPANs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and the six months ended June 30, 2013. The material weakness was reported as remediated as of December 31, 2013, in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.

The Audit Committee has discussed the above reportable event with E&Y. The Company has authorized E&Y to respond fully to any inquiries of the Company’s successor independent registered public accounting firm concerning the subject matter of each of the above reportable event.

(b)    Engagement of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

On March 19, 2014, the Company engaged Grant Thornton LLP (“Grant Thornton”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014. During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 and through March 19, 2014, the Company has not consulted with Grant Thornton regarding either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company’s financial statements, and neither a written report nor oral advice was provided to the Company that Grant Thornton concluded was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to the accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue, or (ii) any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions to that Item) or a reportable event (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).
 
In deciding to engage Grant Thornton, the Audit Committee reviewed auditor independence issues and existing commercial relationships with Grant Thornton and concluded that Grant Thornton has no commercial relationship with the Company that would impair its independence.

Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Total revenues increased 26% to $218.7 million, compared to $173.1 million in fourth quarter 2012.
• Excluding the impact of the restructuring and special items, net income was $53.4 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2013, as compared to $0.17 for the same period last year.

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased with the results we delivered in the fourth quarter.  The first nine months of the year were challenging, as the first two quarters were impacted by cost overruns on a 3D marine program, and during the third quarter we experienced cautious spending by our E&P customers.  However, our customers saw value in our library as our Solutions segment had a record quarter for data library sales, up 131% over fourth quarter 2012.  This increase was seen across the broad portfolio of our data library, particularly in areas offshore East and West Africa, East and West India, and the Gulf of Mexico.   Also, a significant portion of our fourth quarter data library sales were to new customers, a further testament to the value of our data library portfolio.

"Our data processing business had solid revenues in 2013, up 4% from 2012.  This increase was driven by strong demand in Europe, the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as continued demand for our broadband processing solution, WiBand™, which we introduced in 2012.  During 2013, we were awarded and performed a substantial amount of data processing work with a national oil company, but to date, we were not able to recognize revenues for the work as the customer contract was not signed until February 2014.  Now that this contract has been executed, our first quarter 2014 results will benefit from the $14 million to $16 million of work performed during 2013.

"Our Software business experienced a year-over-year decline in revenues of 9% due to customer consolidations but finished the year strong with a record fourth quarter, which was our second best quarter ever in terms of revenues and operating income, driven by increased Orca® software and hardware sales.

"Our Systems business revenues declined 7% in 2013, primarily due to a decline in revenues associated with new positioning system sales, partially offset by an increase in repair and replacement systems. In the fourth quarter we recorded higher operating margins, as we begin to benefit from our third quarter restructuring.  As a result of our restructuring efforts, we have improved operating margins in our Systems segment by approximately 8 to 10 percentage points.

"Our fourth quarter earnings were impacted by restructuring efforts within our INOVA Geophysical joint venture, as well as losses incurred as a result of our taking a larger ownership interest in OceanGeo.  INOVA's restructuring plan was initiated in the third quarter, but because we report our share of their results on a one-quarter lag basis, these charges impacted our fourth quarter results.  INOVA's restructuring has reduced their annual operating costs by approximately $12 million, and we will share in 49% of those savings.

"As we announced in late January, we have taken a 70% controlling stake in OceanGeo, our ocean bottom joint venture.   Because of our increasing influence to the joint venture during the fourth quarter, we recognized 70% of OceanGeo's losses, even though our formal ownership and control did not become effective until January. Our focus remains on building a project pipeline and gaining new awards for OceanGeo beyond the Trinidad project they are currently working.

"We generated $25 million in incremental cash flow during the fourth quarter, excluding draws under our revolver.  As we look to 2014, we expect progress strengthening our balance sheet as we continue to invest in key new technologies, and as we manage operations and new venture programs for cash flow generation in 2014.  Industry analysts believe there will be a modest overall increase in E&P spending compared to 2013, and we expect this increase will likely occur in the back half of 2014, similar to 2013."

Business Outlook

Greg Heinlein, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We had a strong finish in 2013, with every part of our business contributing.  Our data library continues to focus on the right places of the world where exploration spending is occurring.  While not always consistent, we believe this quarter demonstrates that we remain well positioned for future licensing rounds.  We continue to be very customer-focused, supporting over 15 new customers this quarter, as well as assisting large national oil companies as they secure final signatures and funding for the next round of contracts.  Our outlook for 2014 remains cautious until we see clarity in E&P spending between exploration and production.  However, we continue to manage the business with some of the best people in the industry with an eye on driving shareholder value and increased cash generation during 2014."

Item 7.01.    Regulation FD Disclosure
 
On January 29, 2014, ION Geophysical Corporation (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing that the Company had increased its equity ownership in OceanGeo B.V. from 30% ownership to 70% ownership. OceanGeo is a geophysical company specializing in multicomponent ocean bottom seismic acquisition. Formerly named GeoRXT B.V., OceanGeo is owned by the Company and Georadar Levantamentos Geofisicos S/A. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto.

In the same press release, the Company announced that Oceangeo was awarded a 510 square km ocean-bottom 3D seismic survey by the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (Petrotrin). The survey has already commenced offshore Trinidad.
In conjunction with the above press release, the Company has scheduled a conference call for Thursday, January 30, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central). The information for accessing the conference call is included in the press release.
The information contained in Item 7.01 and the exhibit of this report (i) is not to be considered “filed” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (ii) shall not be incorporated by reference into any previous or future filings made by or to be made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act.

Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Total revenues decreased 41% to $79.8 million, compared to $136.3 million in third quarter 2012.  Revenues in all three of the Company's segments declined. 
• Net income (loss) per share: Diluted was ($1.29) vs. last years $0.09

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The third quarter was obviously disappointing, with our year-over-year revenues down 41%.  In our Solutions segment, we experienced a significant decline in new venture activities and data library revenues, indicative of the recent softening in multi-client programs.  This year has seen excess capacity in the market for marine proprietary programs, creating availability for contractors to service the multi-client market.  With excess available capacity driving lower than expected underwriting levels, we currently have delayed our investments in new programs.

"Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we expect to increase multi-client program investments in our 3D North American land programs as well as several new 2D marine programs that are sufficiently underwritten.   

"Our data processing business had solid revenues during the first nine months of the year, driven by strong demand in Europe, theMiddle East and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as continued demand for our broadband processing solution, WiBand^TM.  However, our third quarter data processing revenues were down year-over-year, due to approximately $7.0 million of unrecorded revenues tied to a customer contract still pending final execution.

"Our Software segment continued to experience year-over-year weakness due to softness in the marine contractor market driven by customer consolidation.  However, the launch of our new Narwhal^TM ice management system at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) show in September was well received.  We earned our first commercial revenues this quarter, and we look forward to more updates on Narwhal in ensuing quarters.

"During the third quarter, we restructured our Systems segment to reflect the maturity of our towed streamer product portfolio.  Primarily, we aligned the segment to focus on the seabed market, while lowering the legacy towed streamer product line cost structure, managing it toward greater profitability.  As a result of our restructuring, we have reduced our Systems segment operating costs by approximately $12 million per year.

"During the third quarter, our INOVA joint venture initiated a restructuring program in response to the continued softness in the land market and competition among land equipment providers for both cabled and cableless acquisition systems.  The restructuring within INOVA is intended to enable the business to operate profitably at lower revenue levels.  As we report INOVA on a one fiscal quarter lag, our share of INOVA's restructuring charges will impact our fourth quarter results.

"We also wrote down our remaining investment and receivables in OceanGeo to a zero value.  Until we develop a new pipeline of projects for the joint venture, we felt it was appropriate that our 30% ownership position reflect the lack of earnings visibility in the near future.   We continue to help the joint venture in securing new programs as quickly as possible.

"Regarding the additional increase to our legal accrual, as we disclosed in our October 8-K filing, the trial court in our WesternGeco lawsuit entered an order on supplemental damages and ruled that the damages for the additional units should be calculated by combining the jury's previous reasonable royalty and lost profits damages awards per unit.  Based on these further developments at the trial court level, we concluded it was appropriate to increase the accrual and record an additional non-cash charge to cover these supplemental damages and interest.  In the order, the presiding judge also ruled that infringement involving the supplemental units was not willful and that WesternGeco was not entitled to receive enhanced damages.  After a final judgment in the case is entered by the trial court, we look forward to appealing the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.  It will take some time for the appeal to be completed, but we believe we will ultimately prevail in the case."

OUTLOOK

Greg Heinlein, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We completed painful but necessary steps to rightsize our Systems segment for some of our product lines. These predominantly non-cash charges represent our further transition to a service model focused more closely on E&P customers.  We believe these actions will better position ION within these markets in 2014 as the current seismic market imbalances correct themselves.

"Looking ahead, our effective tax rate should be significantly lower throughout 2014, as we expect to begin utilizing our net operating losses that are fully reserved.  With our reduced investment in multi-client programs during the first nine months of this year, we now expect that our full year spending will be in the range of $100 million to $120 million.

"Given the previously mentioned recent seismic market dynamics, we are prudently managing our business to generate positive cash flows and take comfort with the full availability under our $175 million revolver and almost $90 million of cash on hand at the end of September."

SECOND QUARTER 2013 FINANCIAL RESULTS

• Revenues of $120.9 million, a 15% increase from revenues of $105.2 million in second quarter 2012.
• Net loss of $(71.1) million, or $(0.45) per diluted share, in the second quarter. Excluding the legal accrual, net income was $0.4 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to net income of $12.0 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in second quarter 2012.

Brian Hanson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Overall, the first half of the year was challenging. While our first half revenues were up 16%, our operating margins were down due to cost overruns as we completed acquisition on our first 3D marine program. The pipeline of new venture programs looks solid but is heavily weighted toward the back half of the year. Once again, we are acquiring data in the Arctic, and our land ResSCAN� programs are gearing up this coming quarter. As a result, we have only spent about 25% of our planned 2013 Cap Ex budget in the first half of the year. Our data processing business again generated record revenues, driven by strong demand in Europe, theMiddle East and the Gulf of Mexico, and continued demand for our broadband processing solution, WiBand�. Our systems and software businesses are being pressured by consolidation in the towed steamer market and a reduction in seabed contractors, with RXT's recent filing for bankruptcy. We expect to see modest improvements in these areas of our business over the back half of the year.

"While we've not increased our ownership interest in GeoRXT, we remain highly committed to entering the seabed seismic market through a service model. The seabed market continues to expand, and our leading Calypso� seabed technology will help us capitalize on this growth. In the last quarter alone, we saw approximately $350 million of contracts being awarded to seabed contractors. We also recently announced a strategic alliance with Polarcus to jointly develop, execute and market 3D multi-client programs globally. This alliance will leverage the complementary strengths of our two companies, Polarcus' world-class seismic fleet to acquire data, and petroleum system insights into key basins derived from our 2D BasinSPAN� data library, to locate and design surveys that address specific geological challenges. We believe together we will provide E&P companies a differentiated 3D seismic offering as they look to move from gaining an early exploration understanding of basins, in front of licensing rounds, to later-stage exploration.

"Regarding the increase in our legal accrual, as we previously disclosed in our June 8-K filing, the trial court entered an order rejecting the jury's findings of willfulness and denying WesternGeco's motion for willfulness and enhanced damages, but also denying our challenges to the jury's infringement findings and the jury's damages amount. When preparing our financials for the second quarter, we analyzed the order and all other developments in the case at the trial court level and concluded it was appropriate to increase our accrual and record a non-cash charge to cover the jury's damages amount, court costs, and estimates of potential supplemental damages and interest. After a final judgment in the case is entered by the trial court, we'll appeal the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. It will take some time to pursue the appeal, but we still believe that we will ultimately prevail in the case."

OUTLOOK

Greg Heinlein, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We continued to deliver solid revenue growth in the second quarter but struggled with cost overruns on acquisition of our first 3D marine survey, which we completed in early July. Over the program life, the project was profitable. Our recently announced strategic alliance with Polarcus for 3D multi-client surveys, which will combine our geophysical expertise with Polarcus' fleet of advanced, high-performance vessels, solidifies our commitment to growing our portfolio of 3D programs over time.

"Looking ahead to the second half of 2013, new venture program investments will be more weighted than recent years toward the back half of the year, with full year spending now expected to be in the range of $120 million to $140 million. This revision from previous guidance of $140 million to $160 million reflects delays in some of our land programs into 2014. Our data processing business remains healthy; however, we may experience a delay in recognizing a portion of revenue in the third quarter related to the renewal of a significant customer contract later this year. Our Systems and Software segment results for the first half of the year were impacted by customer consolidation in the towed streamer market. In the second half of 2013, we expect modest sequential improvements. We estimate that INOVA's second quarter income from operations, impacting our third quarter results, will be in the range of $2 million to $3 million.

"Finally, we continue to view our seabed technology as an important strategic growth driver for ION and have maintained our interest in the seabed joint venture at 30% to ensure that our go-to-market strategy optimizes our return on investment in Calypso. It's more likely that our first Calypso array sale will be in 2014."

HOUSTON, May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced that it intends to commence, subject to customary conditions, an offering of up to $175 million aggregate principal amount of its senior secured second lien notes due 2018.  The Company intends to use net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repay existing debt and for general corporate purposes, including for potential additional capital contributions to the Company's GeoRXT seabed seismic joint venture, thus improving its financial flexibility.  The Company's obligations under the notes will be guaranteed by certain of its domestic subsidiaries.

The notes will be sold to qualified institutional investors pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 and to certain non-U.S. persons in transactions outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.  Any offers of the notes will be made only by means of a confidential offering memorandum.  The notes will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or any applicable state securities law, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to available exemptions from such registration requirements.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes, and there shall not be any sale of the notes in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

First Quarter Results

• Total revenues increased 23% to $111.7 million compared to $90.6 million in first quarter 2011, with increased activity in all business units.
• First quarter 2012 net income was $8.2 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.1 million, or $0.00 per share, in first quarter 2011.

Brian Hanson, ION's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased with our quarterly results as this quarter was one of the strongest first quarters in ION's history in terms of revenue, operating income, and net income.  Our robust performance was led by a very solid start in our marine positioning equipment, data processing and multi-client businesses.

"We are benefiting from our focus on execution of our business strategy, as we continue to drive each of our businesses to deliver more even results throughout the year.

"Our data processing business has recovered nicely and delivered another sequential improvement as activity in the international market continues to improve, particularly in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.  We are also benefiting from increased activity in the Gulf of Mexico.

"In our multi-client business, our ResSCAN^™  offerings in North America and our PolandSPAN^™  program continue to position us for growth in the land-based shale plays around the world.  Additionally, our marine multi-client business is uniquely positioned for opportunities in the Arctic and for future licensing rounds in Australia, Brazil, Greenland, and parts of Africa.

"Our marine and software divisions saw increased activities in the ocean-bottom cable market during the quarter.  These divisions also continue to benefit from a healthy repair and replacement business.

"As we disclosed a few weeks ago, INOVA generated its first quarterly profit in their fourth quarter results. Their new product offerings have been well received, as they recently announced the first sale and delivery of G3i^™, their newly-released mega channel recording system, to BGP.  In addition, we are seeing more market interest in the Hawk^™ product line." 

OUTLOOK
Greg Heinlein, ION's Chief Financial Officer, added, "We enjoyed a strong start to 2012 with growth in all businesses. We continue to expect solid year-over-year growth for each of our segments, led by a recovery in our global data processing business, expanding land and marine offerings in GeoVentures, and clear improvements in the land equipment market supported by INOVA's exciting new product offerings.  We are seeing strong demand in the multi-client market this year.  Our 2012 investment in multi-client data libraries will be in the upper end of the range of $130 million to $150 million, with acquisition activity spread more evenly throughout the year.  The seabed and towed streamer markets are steadily improving, with a number of large projects awarded in the first quarter. 

"INOVA's preliminary unaudited results for first quarter 2012 reflect another quarter of significant net income.  INOVA has now had two positive and improving quarters in a row and we are confident in their ability to at least break even in 2012. 

"Based on our market outlook and robust pipeline of order activity, we are confidently investing in each of our businesses and remain positioned to achieve year-over-year quarterly improvement for the remainder of 2012."

February 15, 2012 – ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) reported

• fourth quarter 2011 revenues of $159.9 million, compared to $158.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Excluding special items as noted in the attached tables, ION reported fourth quarter 2011 net income of $23.2 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared to net income of $21.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Including special items, fourth quarter 2011 net income was $12.0 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $20.0 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in 2010.  

Brian Hanson, ION’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We finished with strong results, as expected. Our marine group continues to deliver excellent results, driven by the ongoing transition of the towed streamer market to more complex surveys, which promotes sales of our leading Digi positioning equipment product line and our latest software platform, Orca®. As a major milestone, we installed our Orca software platform on our 51st vessel, further expanding our market share to over 40%. We are also pleased that we completed the BGP 12-streamer deal, as expected, in the fourth quarter with their new marine vessel, Prospector, successfully completing its first commercial job.

“As previously reported, our data processing business experienced a revenue and earnings decline in 2011, which was the direct impact of the Macondo oil spill. This was the first decline in our DP business after several years of year-over-year growth and represented an approximate 12 cent negative pre-tax impact from the prior year. The good news is we have seen an extremely strong build up in our backlog, including the fourth quarter award of the single largest data processing contract in our history, which we believe indicates a healing of the Gulf of Mexico, but also the significant increase in our global data processing footprint over the last year.

OUTLOOK

Greg Heinlein, ION’s Chief Financial Officer, further commented, “Our fourth quarter results were strong, as expected, and we anticipate the positive momentum experienced in the quarter to continue as we head into 2012.

“Our marine business delivered a strong fourth quarter performance, supported by the streamer sale to BGP. Our multi-client business is currently executing several new venture programs on land and offshore, which positions us well for a strong 2012. In addition, our Solutions backlog is at record levels, and we expect revenue growth rates to return to historically high levels.

“As mentioned on our market and business outlook call in December, we expect our investment in multi-client data libraries during 2012 to be in the range of $130 to $150 million, with a significant amount of this investment to be underwritten by our customers and with new venture projects spread more evenly throughout the year due to continued expansion on land. While we expect 2012 earnings to be back-end loaded, we continue to anticipate approximately one-fourth of annual results to be reflected in the first half of the year due to the growing impact of our GeoVentures business and the distribution of multi-client projects throughout the year.”