Halliburton Q3 Results Top Estimates; Boosts Dividend 20%

(RTTNews) - Oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. (HAL) reported Monday a profit for the third quarter that nearly doubled from last year, reflecting record quarterly revenues amid growth across operating segments and regions. Both adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations.

The results were boosted by revenue growth across all segments and international regions as well as operating income growth across most of the segments and international regions, with the Latin American region being relatively weaker than other regions.

The company also declared a 20 percent higher quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share on its common stock for the fourth quarter, payable on December 26 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 5, 2014.

"I am pleased with Halliburton's third quarter results. Once again, we delivered industry-leading revenue and operating income growth, both sequentially and year over year, compared to our primary peers," Chairman, President and CEO Dave Lesar said in a statement.

The Houston, Texas-based company reported net income of $1.20 billion or $1.41 per share for the third quarter, sharply higher than $706 million or $0.79 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Income from continuing operations for the latest quarter was $1.14 billion or $1.33 per share, and adjusted income from continuing operations, excluding Macondo-related items, was $1.01 billion or $1.19 per share.

On average, 31 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.10 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue for the quarter grew 16 percent to a record $8.70 billion from $7.47 billion in the same quarter last year, and topped twenty-four Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $8.53 billion.

Quarterly revenues for completion and production segment increased to $5.42 billion from $4.50 billion as well as drilling and evaluation segment revenues grew to $3.28 billion from last year's $2.97 billion.

During the third quarter, Halliburton said it reduced its existing loss contingency for the Macondo well incident by $100 million and recorded $95 million for an expected insurance recovery related to the settlement, for a total $195 million positive adjustment to operating income.

Total operating income for the quarter surged to $1.63 billion from $1.11 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Halliburton announced in September that it reached an agreement to settle a substantial portion of the plaintiffs' claims asserted against it as a result of the Macondo well incident.

In the days following the settlement agreement, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled that Halliburton was negligent in its conduct related to the Macondo well incident with a fault allocation of 3 percent. Further, the court did not find that Halliburton's conduct constituted gross negligence.

Looking ahead fiscal 2014, the company said it continues expect Eastern Hemisphere revenue expansion in the low double-digits, despite geopolitical headwinds in Russia and the Middle East.

"Our strategy is working well and we intend to stay the course. Our leadership in North America positions us well to take advantage of this quickly evolving market, and we continue to realize significant revenue and margin expansion in our international business," Lesar stated.

HAL closed Friday's regular trading session at $52.60, down $0.13 on a volume of 26.76 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $47.60 to $74.33.