Oil field services provider Halliburton reported an 83 percent rise in profits for the second quarter, despite the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thanks to an increase in land-based drilling activity in North America and improved business abroad, net income came in at $480 million (53 cents a share) for the three months April through June, compared with $262 million (29 cents a share) in the same quarter last year. The results beat analysts' expectations by about 15 cents.
Second-quarter revenue rose to $4.39 billion from $3.49 billion a year ago. Halliburton also said it had added 1,700 jobs in the second quarter.
But the company warned that it expects the government's six-month deep-water drilling moratorium to affect its third quarter and subsequent results. It has been moving rigs out of the Gulf for international destinations, and its business in shallow water has also been hit by new requirements.
Halliburton said it expects the slowdown to affect the company's earnings per share by 5 to 8 cents starting the third quarter, but how long the impact will last depends on how soon offshore activity can get back to normal.
"I do not believe that the deep-water offshore rigs that were mobilized to international locations during this suspension will return to the Gulf for some time — if at all," said Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar.
Halliburton is the first services company to report results to the end of June. Weatherford International reports today, followed by Schlumberger Friday, National Oilwell Varco on 29 July and Baker Hughes 3 August.
