UPDATE 1-Boart Longyear posts full-year loss, amends credit agreement

(Adds earnings details, company comments)

SYDNEY, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Australian drilling services firm Boart Longyear Ltd posted a full-year loss for 2013 due to continuing weakness in the global mining industry, and said it had amended its credit agreement.

Board Longyear said market conditions might not "significantly recover" over the next 12 months, and it has negotiated a change to its credit agreement to ensure access to the revolving credit facility.

Net loss after tax, excluding one-off charges, was $94 million for the year ended December 2013, compared with a net profit of $116 million a year earlier, the company said.

That compared with the average analyst forecast of a net loss of $96.34 million, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data.

The company reported a net loss of $620 million, compared to a net profit $68 million a year earlier, largely due to $461 million of restructuring charges and asset impairments.

"While we cannot predict when our markets will recover, we have the experience of 120-plus years to know that mineral exploration spending will increase, as mining company reserves must be replenished to satisfy ongoing, worldwide commodity demand," Chief Executive Richard O'Brien said in a statement.

The company's shares have dropped 75.5 percent over the past year, against a 9.2 percent rise in the broader market. The stock closed at A$0.43 on Friday.

(Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Jan Paschal and Amanda Kwan)

((maggie.luyueyang@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 93731819)(Reuters Messaging: maggie.luyueyang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA BOARTLONGYEAR/