Halliburton and Baker Hughes report 1Q21 results

Year-over-year revenue was down for both companies as oil and gas customers remain committed to lower spending.

Halliburton reported earnings of US$0.19 per share versus analysts' estimates of US$0.17, IBES data from Refinitiv showed.

Improved results come as oil prices have rebounded from pandemic lows, with Brent oil futures trading close to US$65/bbl and the worldwide rig count up about 11.5% to 1231 rigs in the quarter, Baker Hughes data showed.

"The first quarter marked an activity inflection for the international markets, while North America continued to stage a healthy recovery," Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said.

Oilfield services pricing still needs to recover, Miller told investors during an earnings call, but added the company is seeing "positive signs of market rebalancing" that he expects to drive improvement.

Halliburton posted revenue of US$3.45 billion, up 6.6% from 4Q20 but down from US$5 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had expected revenue of US$3.36 billion, Refinitiv data showed.

Baker Hughes' earnings per share of US$0.12 topped Wall Street estimates of US$0.11. Profit was down 40% in the first quarter, while adjusted operating income fell to US$270 million for the quarter from US$462 million last quarter.

Chief Executive Lorenzo Simonelli said he remained "cautiously optimistic" that the global economy and oil demand would recover.

Year-over-year revenue was down 12% at US$4.78 billion. Baker Hughes said stronger-than-expected activity in North America helped mitigate the impacts of a Texas winter storm that hampered the market.

Baker said it would see a non-operating loss from a change in the fair value of its investment in technology firm C3 AI (AI.N) of US$788 million.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/22042021/halliburton-and-baker-hughes-report-1q21-results/