Halliburton Co. said Sunday its earnings rose 19 percent in the third quarter, as the company continues to expand its business in the Eastern Hemisphere.
The Houston-based oilfield services company reported net income of $727 million, or 79 cents a share, in the July-September period versus income of $611 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
The most-recent results included a favorable income tax benefit of $133 million, or 15 cents a share.
Third-quarter revenue rose 16 percent to $3.93 billion.
Excluding the income tax gain, the results matched analysts' average earnings estimate of 64 cents on revenue of $3.87 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
In a statement, Halliburton Chairman and Chief Executive Dave Lesar said the company's capital expansion in the Eastern Hemisphere resulted in revenue growth of 29 percent versus the third quarter of last year.
North American revenue grew 6 percent despite the loss of two weeks of work in the Gulf of Mexico because of tropical weather and pricing declines for some services, Lesar said.
Last week, Halliburton's chief competitor, Schlumberger Ltd., said its third-quarter profit jumped 35 percent, but weaker-than-expected results in North America drove its shares down sharply. It also noted pricing concerns for some parts of its business.
Halliburton, however, reported record third-quarter revenue for North America, and "we're experiencing strong demand for our services in the United States land market," Lesar said.
The two industry bellwethers, which help oil and natural gas companies extract hydrocarbons through a variety of services, equipment and expertise, have benefited in recent quarters from strong demand because of high oil prices. Those prices rose last week to new records above $90 a barrel.
Halliburton, which split in April from its former subsidiary, KBR Inc., the military contractor and engineering outfit, now reports earnings through two operating arms: completion and production, and drilling and evaluation.
The company said its C& P arm had operating income of $596 million in the most-recent quarter, 6 percent better than year-ago results. In particular, operating income in the Middle East and Asia rose 66 percent on higher completion-tool sales in Asia. North American operating income for the segment fell 6 percent because of reduced activity in Canada.
On the drilling and evaluation side, operating income was essentially flat from the prior year in part because of decreased business in Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.
Halliburton announced in March it would split its corporate headquarters between Houston and Dubai, where Lesar will work, placing him nearer to important markets in the Middle East and Asia. ( AP )