Profits beat forecasts at Halliburton

(Sharecast News) - Halliburton Company posted above-forecast quarterly numbers on Tuesday, despite a slowdown in the Middle East following the outbreak of war. The Houston, Texas-based oilfield services provider saw net income rise to $0.55 per diluted share in the three months to March end, compared to $0.24 a year previously. Analysts had been expecting net income closer to $0.50 a share.

Total revenues were largely flat at $5.4bn.

Driving the performance was a 22% spike in revenues in Latin America, and a 11% jump in Europe and Africa. That robust demand helped offset a 13% slide in the Middle East/Asia, on the back of lower activity across multiple product service lines in Saudi Arabia and decreased drilling related services in Qatar.

Chief executive Jeff Miller said he was "pleased" with first-quarter trading.

"In North America, I can see clear signs that we are in the early innings of a recovery. In international markets, our performance around the world outpaced disruptions from the Middle East conflict," he said.

As at 1330 BST, Halliburton was up 1% in pre-market trading.