Halliburton boosts 3Q profits by 26 pct

NEW YORK (AP) ? Halliburton reported a 26 percent jump in the third-quarter net income Monday as drilling projects in North American continue to boost revenue.

The Houston oil services company reported earnings of $683 million, or 74 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with $544 million, or 60 cents per share for the same period in 2010.

Income from continuing operations was 94 cents per share. Revenue grew 40.4 percent to $6.55 billion in the period.

Analysts, who tend to base estimates on continuing operations, were expecting earnings of 91 cents per share on revenue of $6.35 billion, according to FactSet.

Halliburton Co., which provides cementing, pressure pumping, and myriad other services, is the first big company in the oil sector to report third-quarter results.

Despite a 12.5 percent drop in oil prices in the third quarter, Halliburton said the industry is aggressively tapping oil and natural gas deposits in the U.S., particularly the rich underground shale deposits like the Eagle Ford region of Texas, the Bakken region in North Dakota and Montana.

CEO Dave Lesar said the drop in oil prices may have unsettled investors, but the industry is pressing forward.

"I continue to believe in the long-term prospects for our business," Lesar said in a statement.

With more money flowing in internationally, banks appear onboard as well, Lesar said, making sure the sector is flush with cash to carry out new projects.

Two big acquisitions over as many days have pointed to an active energy industry.

Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA announced Monday that it would buy Brigham Exploration Co. of Austin, Texas for $4.4 billion in cash, giving it control of fields in North Dakota.

The announcement comes one day after Kinder Morgan said it would buy El Paso Corp. for $20.7 billion in a deal that would create America's largest natural gas pipeline operator.

Some of that activity can be seen in the numbers posted by Halliburton Monday.

Halliburton said that rig activity grew 6 percent in North America, leading to a 13 percent growth in revenue in the period. Internationally, rig activity increased 2 percent, and revenue grew 7 percent in the quarter.

The company said costs increased for materials, logistics and labor in North America, and project delays in Iraq and the Libyan rebellion slowed down its international operation.

Halliburton's completion and production business increased profits 75.4 percent to $1.07 billion while its drilling and evaluation business boosted profits 36.2 percent to $369 million.

Schlumberger Ltd. is expected to release its financial results on Friday while Baker Hughes Inc. will post its results on Nov. 1.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-17-Earns-Halliburton/id-422716c2c8e1493eb8b1bdd19096adbc

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