Schlumberger Profit Fell Sharply Despite Revenue Increase
Company Says Overall Global Economic Outlook Remains Mixed
The company's profit, however, declined from the year-earlier period when Schlumberger booked a $1 billion gain tied to OneSubsea, its joint venture with Cameron International Inc.
The Houston company said the overall global economic outlook remains mixed, although "the fundamentals for a slow and steady recovery...remain intact."
"On the other hand, the gap between oil supply and demand is tightening on stronger demand and lower non-OPEC supply leading to narrower spare capacity and consequent support for oil prices that modulate customer spend," the company said. Natural gas markets, on the other hand, appear comfortably supplied, with little upward pressure on prices, it said.
Schlumberger has reported strong revenue growth in recent years as ramped-up activity in Canada and the deep-water U.S. Gulf of Mexico helped offset weakness in onshore North America revenue.
For the most recent period, Schlumberger posted a profit of $1.6 billion, or $1.21 a share, down from $2.1 billion, or $1.57 a share, a year earlier. Earnings from continuing operations, excluding charges and credits, rose to $1.37 a share from $1.15 a year earlier.
Revenue rose nearly 8% to $12.05 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast a profit of $1.36 a share on $11.9 billion in revenue.
Revenue in North America rose 15% to $3.89 billion, while the Middle East and Asia saw an 11.7% growth to $2.97 billion and Europe, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States rose 4% to $3.23 billion. Revenue in its Latin American segment, however, fell about 3% to $1.85 billion.
The company's stock, up 27% since the beginning of the year, closed at $114.64 on Thursday. Shares fell about 1% to $113.35 in recent after-hours trading.