Schlumberger’s shares fell 1% on Friday on news that Q3 earnings missed analysts expectations.
The world’s largest oilfield services company revealed third-quarter net profit of $1.3 billion, or 96 cents a share, from $1.7 billion, or $1.38 a share, in Q3 2010, when the company’s performance was bouyed by the acquisition of Smith International.
Analysts said lower than anticipated margins on Middle East and Asian projects was behind the results, with John Lawrence, an analyst at Tudor, Pickering, Holt, telling Bloomberg “the real miss versus our estimates was in the Middle East and Asia […] They were moving some crews around on the seismic side in the Middle East.”
The Middle East and Asia region generated $2 billion in revenue, a $75 million decline from the second quarter. Company-wide revenue rose 49% year on year to $10.23 billion.
Schlumberger’s shares are down 23% over the past six months, tracking downward oil prices resulting from economic woes in key oil import markets.
Fellow ‘big four’ services firm Halliburton beat profit expectations on 17 October with Q3 income of $867 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, excluding a $19 million, after-tax, or $0.02 per diluted share, impairment charge, up from equivalent figures of $747 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, for Q2.
Weatherford International reports earnings next Tuesday, following by Baker Hughes a week after that.
