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Halliburton reported Friday that conditions improved in North America, the hardest hit region in the oil industry, though third-quarter profits fell well short of the same period last year.
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Pat Sullivan / AP A Halliburton complex in far Southwest Houston occupies several acres of land Monday, July 17, 2006 in Houston. The oil services conglomerate posted second-quarter net income nearly double that of a year ago. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) |
Companies like Halliburton [HAL
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] help oil and gas producers with drilling and other services. Those producers were hit hard this year by plunging oil prices, and they've squeezed the service companies to cut costs, which drained profits for Halliburton during the first half of the year.
Dave Lesar, Halliburton's chairman, president and CEO, said those conditions persist and that the entire sector is still under strain.
Service company have been forced to cut thousands of jobs and Halliburton spent $19 million over the past three months to trim jobs.
The company reported a profit of $262 million, about 61 percent smaller than the same period last year. Still, revenues rose from the previous quarter, the first time that has happened this year. Revenue in North America, where operations slowed by recession, increased 2 percent from the second quarter.
"We are seeing signs that margins are bottoming in the third quarter, but it is likely that fourth quarter margins will continue to be under pressure," Lesar said.
Halliburton, which has corporate headquarters in Houston and Dubai, kicked off what's expected to be a rough earnings season in the oil patch. Companies will be comparing their performance with one of the most lucrative periods in history for the oil industry, during which Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp. both posted their best quarterly earnings ever.
Oil and gas demand has since plunged with the world economy. During the third quarter, a barrel of crude went for about half of what they fetched in the same July-September period in 2008.
Halliburton stock gave up 15 cents in pre-market trading to $29.70 a share.
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