Halliburton swings to $1.7 billion loss in 4Q

Giant oilfield services provider Halliburton sank to a $1.7 billion loss in the last quarter of 2019 as its revenues dropped compared to the same period of 2018.

Halliburton on Tuesday posted a net loss of $1.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019. This compares to net income for the third quarter of 2019 of $295 million and net income of $664 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Halliburton’s adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2019, excluding impairments and other charges, was $285 million.

Halliburton’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $5.2 billion, a decrease from revenue of $5.6 billion in 3Q of 2019, and a decrease from revenues of $5.9 billion in 4Q 2018.

Total revenue for the full year of 2019 was $22.4 billion, a decrease of $1.6 billion, or 7%, from 2018.

Reported operating loss for 2019 was $448 million, compared to a reported operating income of $2.5 billion for 2018. Excluding impairments and other charges, adjusted operating income for 2019 was $2.1 billion, compared to adjusted operating income of $2.7 billion for 2018.

Jeff Miller, Chairman, President, and CEO, said: “In 2020, we expect our international growth to continue. Increased activity, disciplined capital allocation, pricing improvements, and our ability to compete for a larger share of high-margin services should lead to improvement in our international margins in 2020.

“Our North America revenue decreased 21% sequentially in the fourth quarter and 18% for the full year as a result of reduced customer activity and pricing, and our decision to focus on returns over growth. We took swift actions in the fourth quarter making structural changes to adjust to the current market environment.

“While we expect customer spending in North America to be down again this year, we will continue executing our playbook, implementing our service delivery improvement strategy, and focusing on maximizing our returns.

“2020 opens a new decade and a new century for Halliburton. We will continue to focus on delivering margin expansion, industry-leading returns and strong free cash flow,” concluded Miller.