Halliburton Results Hammered by Charges

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By Paul Ausick Updated Published
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Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) reported first-quarter 2015 results before markets opened Monday. The oil and gas services company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49 on revenues of $7.05 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.73 on revenues of $7.35 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.37 and $6.99 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, the firm posted a net loss of $639 million ($0.75 per share) on inventory write-downs, asset write-offs, impairments of intangible assets, severance costs, Venezuelan currency devaluation, costs related to the acquisition of Baker-Hughes and other charges.

The company did not provide guidance in its earnings release, but the second-quarter consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.22 on revenues of $6.13 billion. For the full year, EPS is estimated at $1.14 on revenues of $24.96 billion.

In the first quarter, North American revenue declined 9% and operating income declined 54%, year-over-year, compared to a 21% reduction in the United States land rig count. Internationally, the rig count was down 9% from its peak in July of last year.

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Halliburton’s Latin American revenue rose 10% and operating income rose 22% in the quarter. In the Eastern Hemisphere revenue was flat and operating income rose 3%. In the Middle East/Asia region, revenues rose 13% and operating income was up 33%. In Europe/Africa/CIS, revenue fell 16% and operating income fell 41%. The decline was attributed to slower activity in Angola and the North Sea and currency and sanction issues in Russia.

The company’s CEO said:

Industry prospects will continue to be challenged in the coming quarters, and visibility to the ultimate depth and length of this cycle remains uncertain. We will continue to manage through this downturn focusing on reducing input costs, protecting our market position, and delivering the superior execution and solutions our customers have come to expect. In advance of the pending Baker Hughes acquisition, we have made the decision to preserve our global delivery infrastructure through the downturn, which is having a negative impact on our operating margins but will allow us to realize cost synergies after the close. We continue to look beyond the cycle and invest in capital and strategic programs to maintain the health of the franchise and to emerge even stronger when the industry recovers.

Halliburton shares traded up about 0.6% in Monday’s premarket to $47.18, in a 52-week range of $37.21 to $74.33. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $48.90 before the report.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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