Oilfield services provider Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) reported Friday a decline in first-quarter profit on higher charges. Adjusted earnings increased and topped analysts' consensus estimates as revenues were boosted by strong international activity, despite a weak North American performance.
CEO Paal Kibsgaard said, "International strength, in combination with resilience to challenging market conditions in North America, led to solid performance in the first quarter. While our sequential results displayed the effects of the normal seasonal slowdown in the Northern Hemisphere and the Far East, as well as lower product sales compared to the fourth quarter, our year-on-year figures demonstrated the potential of the international market, the strength of our execution, and the importance of our integration capabilities."
In its recently concluded first quarter, net income attributable to the company was $1.26 billion or $0.94 per share, lower than last year's $1.30 billion or $0.97 per share. The company recorded charges of $0.07 per share in the first quarter of 2013, versus $0.01 per share a year ago.
Adjusted income, which excluded items, attributable to Schlumberger totaled $1.35 billion, or $1.01 per share, 4 percent higher than last year. On average, 32 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.99 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
In the quarter, pretax operating margin of 19 percent declined slightly by 59 basis points as good growth in international margin was more than offset by 356 basis points decline in North American margin.
Quarterly revenue from oilfield services increased 7.6 percent to $10.67 billion from last year's $9.92 billion, while analysts estimated revenues of $10.74 billion. Sequentially, revenues decreased 5 percent.
International revenue grew 13 percent, outpacing the rig count which was up 7 percent from last year. This increase was led by the Middle East & Asia with a 21 percent revenue increase, Europe/CIS/Africa with 11 percent increase, and an 8 percent growth in Latin America.
Meanwhile, North America Area revenue declined 4 percent as strong activity in Canada and solid results from the US Gulf of Mexico partially offset further pricing and activity weakness on land in the US.
Looking ahead, Schlumberger said its overall outlook for 2013 remains largely unchanged from earlier projections, both in terms of GDP growth as well as the fundamentals for the global oil and gas markets, even as the macroeconomic environment saw mixed news in the first quarter from the main economies including China, the US and the Eurozone.
The company continues to expect that oil supply will continue to grow in North America while other non-OPEC production will likely continue to face challenges.
With this, the company said it continues to see strong and consistent growth in line with expectations in key regions that include Sub-Sahara Africa, Russia, the Middle East, China and Australia. Meanwhile, the outlook for North America remains uncertain, with lower-than-expected rig activity and continuing pricing weakness.
Schlumberger shares closed Thursday's trading at $71, up $0.03 or 0.04 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.