U.S. oilfield services giants book more in revenues, expecting further improvement in 2022

Two U.S.-headquartered oilfield services giants – Halliburton and Baker Hughes – have revealed improvements in their first quarter 2022 financial performances on a year-on-year basis, anticipating further market improvements and favourable prices in the coming months.

In its report on Tuesday, Halliburton said it had recorded a net income of $263 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared to the net income of $170 million for the first quarter of 2021. The company’s adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2022 – excluding impairments and other charges and a loss on the early extinguishment of debt – was $314 million.

Jeff Miller, Halliburton Chairman, President and CEO, remarked: “Our performance demonstrated the resilience of our unique strategy in action and the importance of our competitive positioning both in North America and international markets.

“Total company revenue increased 24 per cent and adjusted operating income grew 44 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2021. Both of our divisions delivered strong margin performance despite weather and supply chain disruptions, with Drilling and Evaluation margin eclipsing 15 per cent in the first quarter for the first time since 2010.”

Furthermore, Halliburton’s total revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was $4.3 billion compared to revenue of $3.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Looking ahead, Miller added: “I expect our strong international business to increase throughout the remainder of the year. First-quarter revenue growth in all our international regions together with North America demonstrates that this multi-year upcycle is well underway.

“I’m excited about the accelerating pace of global activity, pricing improvement, and Halliburton’s strong outlook.”

On the other hand, Halliburton’s rival Baker Hughes booked orders of $6.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022, up 3 per cent sequentially and up 51 per cent year-over-year. According to the U.S. player, the sequential increase was a result of higher order intake in Oilfield Equipment, and Turbomachinery & Process Solutions. The firm explained that the year-over-year increase in orders was a result of higher order intake in all segments.

Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes chairman and chief executive officer, commented: “Our first-quarter results reflect operating in a very volatile market environment during the first few months of 2022. On the positive side, we recorded strong orders from TPS as the LNG order cycle continues to unfold.

“As we look ahead to the rest of 2022, we see a favourable oil and gas price backdrop but also a dynamic operating environment. The recent and unfortunate geopolitical events are exacerbating several trends, including broad-based inflation and supply pressures for key materials, commodities and labour.”

Due to these geopolitical issues, the U.S. player suspended new investments for its Russian operations in March 2022 to comply with applicable laws and imposed sanctions, following the country’s attack on Ukraine. Two of its rivals, including Halliburton, made similar announcements as well.  

Moreover, Baker Hughes informed that the revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was $4.8 billion, a decrease of 12 per cent, sequentially, driven primarily by lower volume in all segments. However, compared to the same quarter last year, the revenue was up 1 per cent, driven primarily by higher volume in Oilfield Services, partially offset by lower volume in Oilfield Equipment and Turbomachinery & Process Solutions.

“Despite some of the challenges, we are optimistic on the outlook across both of our core business areas and excited about the new energy investments we are making for Baker Hughes. We believe that we are well positioned to benefit from an extended cyclical recovery in upstream oil & gas and longer term structural growth trends in LNG, new energy and industrial asset management,” stated Simonelli.

According to Baker Hughes, following a loss of $452 million in the last year’s first quarter, the company recorded a net income of $72 million in the first quarter of this year. Its adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2022 was $625 million, down 26 per cent sequentially and up 11 per cent year-over-year.

“Baker Hughes remains committed to helping deliver energy globally in a safe, clean and reliable manner. We also remain committed to a net-zero future and leadership in the energy transition, while we will continue to perform for shareholders,” concluded Simonelli.

In line with its aim of finding ways to speed up the energy transition and reach net-zero carbon emission goals, Baker Hughes joined forces with Shell in November 2021 in a push to decarbonise the energy and industrial sectors.