Halliburton and Baker Hughes optimistic despite lower revenues

U.S. oilfield services providers Halliburton and Baker Hughes have both seen a decrease in quarterly revenues but the companies are optimistic about the rest of 2021 with Baker Hughes leaning more towards the cautious side.

Both energy services companies released their financial reports for the first quarter of 2021 on Wednesday, showing that revenues were down in a year-over-year comparison.

Halliburton posted a net income of $170 million for the first quarter of 2021, which compares to a net loss of $235 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

When it comes to a year-over-year comparison, in the first quarter of 2020, Halliburton booked a loss of $1.02 billion due to impairment charges.

Halliburton’s revenues in the first quarter of this year totalled $3.5 billion, which is a decrease compared to the same period last year and revenues of $5.04 billion.

Jeff Miller, Halliburton Chairman, President and CEO, said: “The first quarter marked an activity inflection for the international markets, while North America continued to stage a healthy recovery. I expect international activity growth to accelerate, and the early positive momentum in North America gives me confidence in the activity cadence for the rest of the year”.

Miller also added: “I am optimistic about how this transition year is shaping up. Our focus on technology innovation, digital investments, and capital efficiency positions us for profitable growth internationally and maximizing value in North America”.

On the other hand, Baker Hughes’ net loss in 1Q 2021 was $452 million compared to a loss of $10.2 billion in 1Q 2020, also due to massive impairments.

The company’s adjusted net income in 1Q 2021 totalled $91 million compared to adjusted net income of $70 million in 1Q 2020.

Baker Hughes’ revenues totalled $4.8 billion for the first quarter of 2021, down 12 per cent year-over-year and revenues of $5.4 billion.

Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes chairman and chief executive officer. “As we look ahead to the rest of 2021, we remain cautiously optimistic that the global economy and oil demand will recover from the impact of the global pandemic.

“We expect spending and activity levels to gain momentum through the year as the macro environment improves, likely setting up the industry for stronger growth in 2022”.