Baker Hughes hit as oilfield services provider posts loss

US company that is being bought by General Electric forecasts decline in drilling outside North America with steepest drop-off likely to be in deepwater sector.

Baker Hughes' section at the exhibition at Adipec in Abu Dhabi. Ali Haider / EPA

The oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said it expected revenue from its onshore business in North America to increase in the first half of the year as customers increase drilling activity and pricing improves.

The company, which is being acquired by General Electric, however, reported a bigger than expected fourth-quarter loss as prices for its services remained weak.

Improvement in pricing would remain limited as the market remained oversupplied, Baker said, joining bigger rivals Halliburton and Schlumberger in forecasting a decline in drilling activity and pricing pressure in markets outside North America.

In international markets, activity declines in its deepwater business are expected to be more severe, Baker said.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss 30 cents per share, much bigger than the analysts’ estimate of a 11 cents per share loss, according to Reuters.

Net loss attributable to Baker Hughes was US$417 million, or 98 cents per share, in the quarter ended December 31, compared with a loss of $1.03bn, or $2.35 per share, a year earlier.

The latest quarter includes after-tax charges of $291m.

Baker Hughes’ revenue fell about 29 per cent to $2.41bn, which beat analysts’ expectations of $2.37bn.

* Reuters

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