Schlumberger and Baker Hughes beat analyst forecasts with their latest quarterly results on Friday, as work outside the US led to increased revenue and profit over 2011.
Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil-field-services company, reported a second-quarter profit of $1.4 billion, or $1.05 a share, up 4.8% from a year earlier. Revenue increased 16% to $10.45 billion. A consensus of analysts polled by Reuters put EPS at $1.
While North American activity has gone through an adjustment in recent months, with rock-bottom gas prices spurring a move from drilling for gas to drilling for crude and condensates, activity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has been strong for both companies.
Baker Hughes reported profit earned a profit of $439 million, or $1 per share, up 30% year on year. Analysts expected 77 cents a share. The news saw Baker Hughes’s shares clos up over 9% on the New York Stock Exchange to $45.59.
Baker Hughes has a large exposure to the volatile guar gum market because of its concentration on US shale activity. Guar gum – which has become a major cash crop in India – rocketed in price, prompting a disappointing set of results for Halliburton for the first quarter. Prices have now come down, but this is not expected to benefit profit margins until Q3.
Halliburton is slated to release its earnings tomorrow Monday 22 July.
