Halliburton’s share price slumps despite beating earnings expectations after $28bn Baker Hughes merger deal falls through
Halliburton, one of the biggest oilfield services companies in the US, has posted a loss of $2.41bn (£1.65bn), or $2.81 a share.
This time last year the company posted of $643m, or 76 cents a share.
Total revenue over the quarter slid by a whopping 40 per cent to $4.2bn, while adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at seven cents a share.
The figures were marginally ahead of the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters who had pencilled in revenue of $4.16bn and adjusted earnings of 4 cents a share.
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The results have been blamed on market conditions as the number of rigs operating in the US dropped to historic lows as the oil price failed to recover to anywhere near its highs of mid-2014.
The oil price reached $115 per barrel in July 2014 before crashing to lows of $27 dollars in January this year. It has since somewhat recovered, up by over 60 per cent and is currently trading around the $45 mark.
The latest numbers add to the company's woes after it announced at the weekend it had terminated its plans for a merger with smaller rival Baker Hughes.
The $28bn merger deal collapse was put down to opposition from US and European competition regulators, and Halliburton estimated it racked up acquisition-related costs of $378m, or 44 cents a share, over the last three months.
On top of all that, Halliburton now has to pay Baker Hughes a $3.5bn termination fee by tomorrow.
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Baker Hughes yesterday was scrabbling to reassure investors by outlining cost cuts and stock and debt buybacks.
Meanwhile, the news is almost as grim for other companies in the sector. Rival Schlumberger, the largest US oilfield services firm, axed 2,000 employees during the first quarter after posting a 49 per cent drop in earnings at the end of last month.