Oilfield service company Halliburton Company (HAL) stated that third quarter revenue generated from North America would be lower than that recorded in the second quarter of 2012. Regional profit margins are also expected to move down by 2.5% to 3%.
This drop is expected to be owing to lesser drilling activities along with depressing oil and natural gas price scenario. With natural gas prices yet to improve in the U.S., drilling activities have slowed down across most of the acreages.
As a result, fewer number of rigs are currently being employed, leading to a slack in demand for oilfield services. Effects of this third-quarter revenue outlook were reflected through a drop in price of shares of Halliburton.
In Houston, Texas-based Halliburton’s second-quarter 2012 results – announced in late July – North America accounted for approximately 57% of its total revenues and 66% of its operating income.
The company’s quarterly earnings per share from continuing operations came in at 80 cents, handily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents and flat year over year. Revenues of $7.2 billion were 21.9% greater than that achieved during the second quarter of 2011, and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.9 billion, as sales increased across the company’s business units.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Halliburton’s third quarter is a profit of 77 cents per share on revenues of $7.4 billion.
Halliburton – the second largest member of the oilfield services contingent after Schlumberger Limited (SLB) – currently retain a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We also maintain a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
We expect Halliburton to benefit from its leading position in oilfield services market, strong international exposure and consistent market growth and healthy financial profile.
However, the cloudy North American conditions will likely affect the overall profitability of the company in the coming quarters.
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