Halliburton Company HAL reported in-line third-quarter 2021 earnings on the back of an improved year-over-year revenue contribution from North America activities,partially offset by a lower-than-expected operating income from the Completion and Production segment as well as the Drilling and Evaluation segment.
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This world’s second-largest oilfield services company after Schlumberger SLB reported earnings of 28 cents per share, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line improved from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 11 cents.
Operating income in the quarter under review was $446 million comparing favorably with the year-ago quarter’s operating income of $142 million.
Revenues of $3.86 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.91 billion. The top line, however, improved from the year-ago quarter’s sales of $2.98 billion.
Outlook
The world’s biggest provider of hydraulic fracking noted that its completion and production division achieved decent mid-teens profits while its drilling and evaluation division sustained their steady progress.
According to Halliburton, a multi-year upcycle is in the works. Increased demand for its services, both globally and in North America, is driven by a scarcity of structural global commodities. Halliburton is seen to be well positioned in both areas to benefit from the strengthening economy.
The company’s value offering, unique exposure to both worldwide and the North American markets, and innovative technology across an integrated services portfolio reinforce its long-term competitive edge, resulting in a high free cash flow and industry-leading returns.
Segmental Performance
Operating income from the Completion and Production segment came in at $322 million, soaring 51.9% from the year-ago level of $212 million but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $350 million.
The division’s performance was boosted by a ramped-up activity across multiple product service lines in Western Hemisphere, increased cementing operations in the Middle East and Asia, and a surge in well-intervention services in Europe and Africa. However, expedited maintenance expenditures for its stimulation business in North America, lower completion tool sales in the Eastern Hemisphere and a decreased stimulation activity in the Middle East/Asia area offset some of these gains.
The Drilling and Evaluation unit’s profit improved from $105 million in the third quarter of 2020 to $186 million in the corresponding period of 2021. Improved drilling-related services, globally, and in North America, apart from more frequent testing services and wireline activities across Latin America, and enhanced project management operations in Mexico and Ecuador, all contributed to this outperformance. However, the segmental income fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $188 million due to lower drilling-related operations in Norway and the Gulf of Mexico.
Balance Sheet
Halliburton’s capital expenditure in the third quarter was $188 million. As of Sep 30, 2021, the company had $2.63 billion worth cash/cash equivalents and $9.12 billion of long-term debt, representing a total debt-to-total capitalization of 61.6%.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Halliburton currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Continental Resources, Inc. CLR and Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp MGY, each presently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Continental Resources’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the previous four quarters, missing the same on one occasion.
Magnolia’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters.
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