Las ganancias de SLb subieorn 31% debido al aumento en la demanda global de energia y servicios para petroleras, particularmente en las companias en North America.
Aumentara sus dividendos trimestrales en 14%
Schlumberger Booms
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Schlumberger Ltd.'s fourth-quarter profit rose 31% as surging global demand for energy fueled oil-field services, particularly among companies operating in North America.
Schlumberger Chief Executive Andrew Gould offered an optimistic outlook for the energy industry, noting last year's demand for oil increased at the second-largest rate in three decades. He said that appetite will keep growing in 2011.
Schlumberger CEO Andrew Gould, shown above in London in October, cautioned some areas could see competitive pricing pressures this year.
."Oil prices have moved into a range that will encourage increased investment, particularly in exploration," Mr. Gould said.
Oil demand should propel deep-water drilling around the world and jump-start exploration onshore, where production has been weak. Another source of growth, he said, would come from wider use of techniques used to cull energy from unconventional sources such as shale formations.
Schlumberger's strong results bode well for smaller rivals Halliburton Co., Weatherford International Ltd. and Baker Hughes Inc., which report results next week. "Oil-field services are in a very sweet spot right now," Edward Jones analyst Brian Youngberg said.
Schlumberger reported profit of $1.04 billion, or 76 cents a share, up from $795 million, or 65 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring and merger-related expenses, per-share earnings from continuing operations rose to 85 cents from 67 cents. Revenue soared 58% to $9.07 billion, after dropping 17% a year earlier.
The company's shares, which have climbed nearly 57% since late August, fell 2.1% to $83.48 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange trading Friday.
Schlumberger, with headquarters in Houston, Paris and the Hague, rode sharp gains in its North American business, where producers continue to drill complicated and expensive wells into oil-and-gas-bearing shale formations. Mr. Gould said that activity should remain strong "at least through the first half of the year, due to the commitments necessary to retain leases."
He said energy-producing shale formations are poised to "attract considerable interest outside North America," offering another potential source of revenue growth.
But Mr. Gould also sounded several notes of caution. Increased services competition could push shale-drilling pricing lower later in the year. Schlumberger's business was boosted in the fourth quarter by the $11 billion acquisition of drilling equipment and services vendor Smith International Inc. in August. The acquired Smith businesses contributed revenue of $2.49 billion and earnings of $275 million.
Schlumberger executives also said the acquisition could boost its U.S. tax liabilities in 2011. And the company said it does not foresee a significant uptick for at least six months in drilling in the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters, where activity has been at a near standstill since BP PLC's deadly Deepwater Horizon accident.
Schlumberger said that the U.S. government's moratorium on deep-water drilling that followed the April 20 disaster trimmed fourth-quarter earnings by about five cents a share.
Though drilling there could pick up there later in 2011, Mr. Gould said, "we don't think we're going back to anything like the 33 rigs that were drilling when the moratorium started." Schlumberger's clients, however, retain a "huge interest" in the area, he said.
Globally, deep-water drilling activity should increase in 2011, particularly in Brazil, East and West Africa and Indonesia, Mr. Gould said.
High oil prices, Mr. Gould said, should also spark a recovery in onshore activity in North Africa, which has been weak, as well as in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
Schlumberger said that its board had approved a 19% increase in its quarterly dividend. The dividend of 25 cents a share is expected to cost an additional $55.2 million a quarter.
Write to Ryan Dezember at
ryan.dezember@dowjones.com