Houston oil-field service company Baker Hughes closed 2019 with a profit as its peers in the troubled sector are reporting multibillion dollar losses.
Source: Houston Chronicle
Baker Hughes reported $128 million of net income in 2019, a 34 percent decline compared with the $195 million profit in 2018. The company’s 2019 revenue rose 4 percent to $23.8 billion compared with $22.9 billion a year earlier.
The financial results come as a slump in demand for hydraulic fracturing services in the United States is hurting Baker Hughes’ competitors. Schlumberger, the largest oil-field service company in the world, reported a $10.1 billion loss in 2019. No. 2 Halliburton closed the year with a $1.1 billion loss.
Baker Hughes left the U.S. hydraulic fracturing business in January 2017 and has diversified its products and services.
“As we look forward to 2020, we are clearly focused on executing our strategy and generating strong free cash flow, improving margins and driving returns,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said.
Looking at the company’s fourth-quarter results, Baker Hughes reported $48 million in net income, a 64 percent decline compared with the same quarter in 2018. Fourth-quarter revenue of $6.4 billion was a 1.4 percent increase over the $6.3 billion a year earlier.
The company’s fourth-quarter fell short of Wall Street expectations in revenue and earnings per share. Analysts were eyeing $120 million in revenue and 23 cents per share instead of 7 cents. Administrative spending and the price of restructuring, impairments and separation cost the company $964 million in the fourth-quarter.
With roots in Texas going back to 1907, Baker Hughes employs more than 64,000 people in 120 nations.
Boston industrial conglomerate General Electric bought Baker Hughes in July 2017 but the company became independent again in October.
