Halliburton reports 50% profit in 4Q
Halliburton Co. signage in Fort Worth, Texas. In January 2012, the company reported uts net income jumped nearly 50 percent in the final three months of 2011 as rising oil prices sparked new drilling projects. Credit: Getty Images, 2002
Halliburton is reporting that its net income jumped nearly 50 percent in the final three months of 2011 as rising oil prices sparked new drilling projects.
The Texas-based company posted earnings of $906 million Monday, or 98 cents per share, for the fourth quarter. That compares with $605 million, or 66 cents per share, for the same part of 2010.
Excluding a $15 million charge, Halliburton earned $1 per share in the quarter. Revenue increased 36.9 percent to $7.06 billion.
For the full year, Halliburton Co. earned $2.84 billion, or $3.08 per share, compared with $1.84 billion, or $2.02 per share, in 2010. Annual revenue increased 38.1 percent to $24.8 billion.
Bloomberg News reported that the company also reported that it expects its North America operating margins to decline further after it fell in the fourth-quarter as companies cut natural-gas drilling. It is the world's largest provider of hydraulic fracturing services, the process of inserting fluids to bring oil deposits to the surface.
Halliburton, based in Houston, reported a profit margin of 27.2 percent for its largest region, down from 29 percent in the past two quarters, according to a statement Monday, Bloomberg News said.
The company expects another 1 percentage point decline in the regional margin this quarter as it moves eight fracking crews from gas basins to oil plays, chief financial officer Mark McCollum told analysts Monday on a conference call.
With reporting from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
