Revenue dropped nearly 20% year-over-year in the first quarter driven by the sharp decline in North American onshore activity and the associated pricing pressure. While currency exchange effects with Russia and Venezuela had some impact on revenues, the company said that about three-quarters of the overall decline was the result of lower activity and lower pricing.
Schlumberger announced a layoff of 9,000 workers at the end of the fourth quarter and raised that to a total of 11,000 during the first quarter. The company recorded a pre-tax charge of $390 million in the first quarter associated with the reduction and an incentivized leave of absence program.
The company is expecting the largest drop in E&P investment to occur in North America, where 2015 spend is expected to be down by more than 30%. A recovery in US land drilling activity will be pushed out in time, as the inventory of uncompleted wells builds and as the re-fracturing market expands.
Internationally, Schlumberger expects 2015 E&P spending to fall around 15%, which will create challenges in terms of both activity and pricing levels. According to the company, these challenges will be considerably less than the headwinds it faces in North America.
The company’s CEO said:
Amid the rapid decline in activity, we remain focused on what we can control, including our cost and resource base, the deployment of our technology and expertise, and the quality and integrity of the products and services we provide. We continue to work closely with our customers in meeting their objectives of lowering cost per barrel, through the introduction of new technologies, continuous improvements in both reliability and operational efficiency, and through more integrated workflows and performance-based contracts.
The company also recorded a $49 million pre-tax devaluation charge related to Venezuelan transactions.
Schlumberger expects capex in 2015 to total about $2.5 billion, down from a previous estimate of around $3 billion.
The company did not provide guidance in its press release, saying it would provide information in a conference call Friday morning. The consensus estimates for the second quarter call for EPS of $0.74 on revenues of $9.68 billion. For the full year, EPS is pegged at $3.27 on revenues of $39.17 billion.
Shares traded up about 1.8% in after-hours trading at $93.60 after closing at $91.89. The stock’s 52-week range is $75.60 to $118.76. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $92.45 before today’s results were announced.
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