Energy

Halliburton Earnings Confess Drop in New North American Drilling

Drilling Rig
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Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) reported third-quarter 2014 results before markets opened Monday. The oil and gas services company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19 on revenues of $8.7 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.83 on revenues of $7.47 billion. Third-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.10 and $8.53 billion in revenues.

Adjusted income does not include $195 million related to a $100 million reduction in the company’s loss contingency for the Macondo well explosion in 2010 and a $95 million expected insurance recovery. Including these two one-time items, Halliburton’s EPS for the quarter is $1.33.

In a separate announcement Monday morning, Halliburton said it would raise its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.18 per share beginning with the fourth quarter of the year. Halliburton also repurchased $300 million in stock during the third quarter.

The company did not provide guidance in its earnings release, but the fourth-quarter consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.25 on revenues of $8.89 billion. For the full year, EPS is estimated at $3.99 on revenues of $32.76 billion.

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The company’s CEO said:

Our strategy is working well and we intend to stay the course. Our leadership in North America positions us well to take advantage of this quickly evolving market, and we continue to realize significant revenue and margin expansion in our international business.

About 54% of Halliburton’s revenues and a slightly larger 55% of its operating come from North America, where completion and production operating income rose 21% sequentially due primarily to higher activity levels. In the company’s drilling and evaluation division, North American operating income fell 12% sequentially, or $19 million, due to reduced activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Operating income in the division from Latin America rose 462% sequentially, or $60 million, to $73 million.

The company’s fastest growth is in Latin America, where the changes to Mexico’s petroleum laws are expected to have a significant positive impact on Halliburton’s business. So far, that seems to the case: total operating income from Latin America more than doubled sequentially in the third quarter, while North America’s operating income rose 15%, the company’s Europe/Africa/CIS region posted a gain of 16% and the Middle East/Asia region posted a small drop, from $264 million to $262 million.

Halliburton’s shares were up 3% in premarket trading Monday to $54.17, in a 52-week range of $47.60 to $74.33. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $78.40 before the report.

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