Halliburton Earnings
Fall by 50 Pct
DALLAS (AP) -- Halliburton Co., the oilfield-services and construction company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, said Thursday that its earnings fell by 50 percent in the third quarter as the oil and gas industry continued to soften.
The Dallas-based company said it earned $94 million, or 22 cents a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30 compared to $179 million, or 42 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding cost for selling a business and for restructuring the company into two operating units, it would have earned $119 million, or 28 cents a share, the company said.
On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected earnings of 21 cents a share.
Revenue was $2.98 billion, down 12 percent from $3.39 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue of $3.09 billion in the third quarter.
"I am very pleased with our performance in the face of soft industry conditions and as compared with our peers," said Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive of Halliburton.
For the first nine months of the year, Halliburton lost $382 million, or 88 cents a share, versus a profit of $670 million, or $1.57 a share, a year ago. Revenue fell to $9.22 billion from $9.87 billion a year ago.
Cheney was chairman and chief executive of Halliburton from 1995 to mid-2000.
In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Halliburton shares were down 6.2 percent, or $1.11 a share, to $16.84.