(RTTNews) - Oil field services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI: News ) on Wednesday posted a steep decline in third-quarter profit, dented by weak performance across all of its business operations.

Q3 Results

The Houston, Texas-based company's third-quarter net income was $55 million or $0.18 per share, compared to $429 million or $1.39 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to post earnings of $2.26 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The latest quarter results included expenses of $38 million before tax or $0.08 per share associated with reorganization, severance and acquisition costs, and an increase to the company's allowance for doubtful accounts.

Quarterly revenues totaled $2.23 billion, decline of 26% from the previous year's revenue of $3.01 billion, and fell behind the $2.26 billion revenue consensus estimate of sixteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Chad Deaton, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Baker Hughes, said, "Third quarter North America operating margins rebounded from the low set in the second quarter of 2009. Aggressive cost cutting in the first half of 2009 enabled us to absorb additional price decreases and improve profitability on modest activity increases."

Sales in the quarter dropped to $1.09 billion from $1.45 billion reported a year ago, and services and rentals revenue amounted to $1.14 billion, down from the prior-year's $1.56 billion.
Geographical Analysis

North American revenue fell 33%, to $817 million from $1.31 billion a year ago, reflecting changes in the North America rig count, which was down 52% year-over-year.

Quarterly revenues for Latin America decreased 7% to $265 million from $285 million last year, as increased revenue from the Mexico / Central America geomarket was offset by reduced revenue from the Venezuela and Argentina / Bolivia / Chile geomarkets.

Europe Africa Russia Caspian region witnessed quarterly revenue totaled $666 million, a decline of 24% from $874 million recorded in the year-earlier quarter, largely hampered by downturns in the Russia, UK and Norway geomarkets. Revenue declined year-over-year in all geomarkets with the exception of Angola.

Revenue for Middle East Asia Pacific region dropped 10% to $484 million from $539 million generated in the previous year. The company noted that the revenue revenue decline in the region was in line with the decline in the rig count, with higher revenue from the Australasia and India/Southwest Asia geomarkets being offset by lower revenue from all other Middle East Asia Pacific geomarkets.

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