Nabors Industries Ltd.'s (NBR) swung to a second-quarter loss as
the oil-field services company was hurt by a big write-down and
other items.
The oil-field-services sector in North America is being squeezed
both by high costs--the result of a migration of drillers from
natural-gas-rich areas to more complex, oil-rich formations--and
lower prices for their services.
Pressure pumping, a technique that is critical to extracting oil
and natural gas from shale, is undergoing a particularly acute
crunch.
Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Petrello said the latest
period included disappointing results in the company's pressure
pumping business, "where lower revenues and higher costs
disproportionately affected margins. Similarly, our international
unit also fell short of expectations with startup delays and
significantly higher costs."
Nabors, the largest global driller of onshore oil and natural
gas, reported a loss of $72 million, compared with year-earlier
profit of $193.2 million. On a per-share basis, which includes
preferred dividend impacts, the loss was 25 cents, compared with
year-earlier earnings of 65 cents.
Excluding write-downs related to the reserve valuation in its
NFR Energy joint venture and other items, adjusted earnings were up
at 38 cents from 24 cents. Revenue increased 19% to $1.61
billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently projected
earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $1.74 billion.
Nabors' shares have been hurt by falling natural-gas prices as
well as investor concerns about executive perks and severance
packages.
Shares were down six cents at $13.96 in light after-hours
trading. Through Tuesday's close, the stock is down by nearly half
in the past year.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@dowjones.com
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