Halliburton Makes Slim 2Q Profit

US oil and gas services giant Halliburton posted a 2Q 2017 profit of $28mn, contrasting with its year-ago $3.2bn 2Q loss when it booked a $3.52bn loss from the fee to terminate its merger with Baker Hughes and related costs.

Operating income this 2Q was $397mn from completion and production and $125mn from drilling and evaluation, but it lost $114mn on corporate matters, plus $262mn on impairments. Losses before tax were $1mn and because of a $29mn tax credit, the group just about scraped a net $28mn profit. 

Among its impairments were recognition by Halliburton of a $262mn “fair market value adjustment associated with an expected promissory note in Venezuela.”

Among its corporate items, Halliburton said that $29mn relates to a a loss contingency in connection with an understanding with US markets regulator Securities & Exchange Commission's staff to settle past matters in Angola and Iraq – which is pending an approval by SEC’s board.

North America revenue of $2.77bn was up 83% year on year, while those in Latin America were up slightly, and those in Europe/Africa/CIS and Mideast down. Total revenue including N America was $4.96bn, up 29% on 2Q 2016.

Mark Smedley