Schlumberger narrowly beats profit estimates as costs weigh

Reuters 

By and Liz Hampton

The has benefited from a 7.5 percent rise in U.S in the first quarter as a strengthening global economy and OPEC-led supply cut reduced excess global supplies.

Shares of Schlumberger, considered a bellwether for the and drilling industries, were down 1.3 percent at $69.40 in premarket trading as part of a broader decline in and prices.

Brent and U.S. crude turned negative after U.S. criticized OPEC for rising prices that he said were being artificially increased and would not be accepted.

Schlumberger, the world's largest provider, said revenue from jumped nearly 52 percent to $2.84 billion.

However, the company's total cost of and delivering services rose nearly 12 percent to $6.80 billion.

Revenue from international operations, the company's biggest segment, fell 0.8 percent to $4.88 billion.

Total revenue rose to $7.83 billion from $6.89 billion.

Net profit attributable to Schlumberger rose to $525 million, or 38 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $279 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 38 cents per share, beating analysts' estimate of 37 cents per share, according to Thomson I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by in Bengaluru; Editing by and Sriraj Kalluvila)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, April 20 2018. 18:19 IST