Halliburton’s earnings beat expectations
OIL EQUIPMENT firm Halliburton topped Wall Street’s forecasts with its quarterly profit yesterday, helped by strong sales in Asia.
The firm said net income dropped 7.9 per cent to $679m (£442m) as America’s search for shale gas slowed down in the face of weak gas prices. Revenues rose 1.1 per cent to a record $7.3bn in the three months to the end of June.
Halliburton, which remains in talks with BP to settle its liabilities from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, flagged up robust demand for its equipment in Malaysia, China and Angola in the period.
The firm said it has expanded its buyback programme from $4.3bn to $5bn. The move “reflect[s] our growing confidence in the strength of our business outlook”, said chief executive Dave Lesar in a statement yesterday.
“Relative to our primary competitors, we have delivered leading year-over-year international revenue growth for five consecutive quarters,” he added.
While it expects the US rig count to be flat in the coming quarter, Halliburton thinks overseas business will pick up, particularly in Latin America.