SLB Schlumberger Ltd

By Ezequiel Minaya 

Halliburton Co. is delaying the release of its full first-quarter financial results until next month, amid a looming April 30 deadline for its merger with Baker Hughes Inc. that has faced stiff regulatory opposition.

Halliburton said Friday that it would release its latest data May 3. But the oil-field-services company, nonetheless, disclosed that it cut some 6,000 jobs in the quarter ended March 31, more than the 5,000 jobs originally estimated for elimination in February.

The company's head count has fallen by roughly a third or about 28,600 workers since the oil downturn began in 2014. On its website, Halliburton says it has more than 55,000 employees.

The prolonged collapse in oil prices has resulted in a decrease in investment, leaving the oil-field-services industry with battered top lines.

The company also reported first-quarter revenue of $4.2 billion, down 40% from a year earlier but more than the average estimate of $4.16 billion by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Halliburton Chief Executive Dave Lesar said that production declines were expected through 2016, with clients slow to ramp up even if there is a turnaround in the market as they first try to repair their balance sheets.

"What we are experiencing today is far beyond headwinds; it is unsustainable," he said, addressing market conditions in North America. "My definition of an unsustainable market is one where all service companies are losing money in North America, which is where we are now."

He added that last year's 40% decline in industry spending in North America will be followed by an estimated 50% fall this year.

Halliburton and Baker Hughes set the April 30 deadline for obtaining all regulatory approvals for the merger, after which either company could terminate the deal, though they could also choose to stay the course.

Halliburton would have to pay a steep $3.5 billion breakup fee if the deal falls apart. But some analysts have said that Baker Hughes might struggle to regain its footing as an independent company.

The $35 billion deal was struck in November 2014, during better times for the energy sector and would combine the world's second- and third-largest oil-field services firms after Schlumberger Ltd.

Since the deal was struck, the oil-field services industry has faced severe setbacks, as persistently low oil prices have slashed demand for the business of drilling wells and pumping oil and natural gas.

The proposed merger also has faced antitrust resistance around the globe. Earlier this month, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit challenging the deal, alleging the merger would threaten higher prices and reduce innovation in the sector.

The lawsuit, filed in a Delaware federal court, asserted that the transaction would eliminate important head-to-head competition in markets for 23 products and services used for U.S. oil exploration and production, from drill bits to offshore cementing services.

Halliburton and Baker Hughes have been trying to ease those concerns by offering to sell off assets worth billions of dollars.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2016 20:48 ET (00:48 GMT)

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