Schlumberger net income rises 31%

Schlumberger's fourth-quarter net income jumped 31 percent, the company reported Friday, as demand for oilfield services surged around the world along with the price of energy.

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Schlumberger's fourth-quarter net income jumped 31 percent, the company reported Friday, as demand for oilfield services surged around the world along with the price of energy.

Oil prices have moved consistently higher since last summer. A barrel of oil now costs more than $90.

The energy industry, after slumping during the recession, is aggressively bumping up production to meet demand and major oil producers need companies Schlumberger to manage drill sites across the globe.

The company's shares have been climbing since last summer as well, and before the market opened Friday, the stock rose nearly 2 percent to $86.80.

Schlumberger has had to grow with major producers and last year spent $11 billion to acquire Smith International Inc.

It was the time that Smith's operations were reflected over an entire quarter and during the past three months, the company contributed revenue of $2.49 billion and pretax operating income of $275 million.

Schlumberger Ltd., based in Houston, earned $1.04 billion, or 76 cents per share, for the final three months of the year. That compares with $795 million, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased 58 percent at $9.07 billion.

Excluding special charges, Schlumberger said it would have earned $1.16 billion, or 85 cents per share, in the quarter.

Analysts typically exclude special charges and had predicted earnings of 78 cents per share on revenue of $10.1 billion.

Oilfield services revenue climbed 16 percent to $6.01 billion.

Schlumberger said that 2010 was the second-biggest demand increase in the past 30 years and most forecasts call for that trend to continue.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency expects oil demand this year will rise to 89.1 million barrels a day, up from 87.7 million barrels a day in 2010.

For the full year, Schlumberger said it earned $4.27 billion, or $3.38 per share, compared with $3.13 billion, or $2.59 per share in 2009. - Sapa-AP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/schlumberger-net-income-rises-31-1.1015316

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