| PARIS -Thursday, April 26th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ]
Revenue of $7.8 billion decreased 4% sequentially
Pretax operating income of $974 million decreased 16% sequentially
EPS was $0.38
Cash flow from operations was $568 million
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) today reported results for the first quarter of 2018.
(Stated in millions, except
per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Change
Mar. 31, 2018 Dec. 31, 2017 Mar. 31, 2017 Sequential Year-on-year
Revenue $7,829 $8,179 $6,894 -4% 14%
Pretax operating income $974 $1,155 $757 -16% 29%
Pretax operating margin 12.4% 14.1% 11.0% -169 bps 145 bps
Net income (loss) - GAAP basis $525 $(2,255) $279 n/m 88%
Net income, excluding charges & credits* $525 $668 $347 -21% 51%
Diluted EPS (loss per share) - GAAP basis $0.38 $(1.63) $0.20 n/m 90%
Diluted EPS, excluding charges & credits* $0.38 $0.48 $0.25 -21% 52%
*These are non-GAAP financial measures. See section below entitled "Charges & Credits" for details.
n/m = not meaningful
Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard commented, “As forecast, our results in the first quarter of 2018 largely reflected transitory factors, with seasonal reductions in activity in the Northern Hemisphere and planned project startup costs including the equipment mobilization, reactivation, and redeployment associated with recent contract wins.
“The underlying international businesses started the year well, as business units in the Middle East, the North Sea, and Russia were all in line with our first-quarter activity expectations, while activity upsides in Asia were offset by continued weakness in Latin America and Africa.
“On land in North America, our Drilling services business continued to grow, driven by strong demand for horizontal drilling technologies. Revenue also increased due to the ramp-up of activity in Canada. The US land pressure pumping business, however, was impacted by weaker than expected activity as well as by softer pricing, inefficiency, rising supply chain costs, and rail logistical challenges. In spite of this, we continued to deploy available fracturing assets, including equipment from our newly acquired capacity. We expect the US land hydraulic fracturing market to improve during the second quarter, both in terms of pricing and in operational efficiency and, therefore, we are continuing with our aggressive fleet reactivation and recommissioning program.
“Overall, the first-quarter sequential revenue decline was led by the Cameron Group, which fell 7%, driven by seasonally lower project volumes and reduced product sales. Reservoir Characterization Group revenue decreased 5% sequentially due to the seasonal reduction in sales of SIS software and WesternGeco multiclient seismic licenses. Drilling Group and Production Group revenues were respectively 2% and 4% lower sequentially, also as a result of the seasonal reductions in activity in the Northern Hemisphere.
“Looking at the global oil market, the absence of global stock builds in the first quarter, supported by the OPEC- and Russia-led production cuts, confirm that the oil market is in balance. More importantly, after three consecutive years of dramatic underinvestment in global E&P spending, the worldwide production base has started to show the anticipated signs of weakness with noticeable year-over-year production declines appearing in several countries such as Angola, Norway, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. With Libya and Nigeria producing at near-full capacity, Venezuelan production in free fall, the potential of new sanctions against Iran, and rising geopolitical risks, the only major sources of short-term supply growth to address global production decline and strong worldwide demand are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Russia, and the US shale oil industry. However, production challenges in US shale are emerging that are linked to infill drilling well-to-well interference, the potential lower production of step-out drilling from Tier 1 acreage, and significant infrastructure constraints. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly likely that the industry will face growing supply challenges over the coming year and a significant increase in global E&P investment will be required to minimize the impending deficit.
“We remain optimistic about the outlook for sustainable activity growth in our global business over the course of 2018 and into 2019. This is driven by higher customer activity and our ability to capture a major share of the emerging opportunities as performance-based contracts and integrated projects continue to gain traction as the preferred business models for many of our customers. Recent contract awards, which include the major lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contracts in Saudi Arabia, additional wins elsewhere in the Middle East and Latin America, and new projects in the US Delaware Basin, are examples of this market trend. Our increased R&E focus in recent years on systems innovation and design is now enabling us to create additional value for both our customers and Schlumberger on these projects. This is achieved by integrating a new generation of purpose-built hardware and software with our deep domain expertise and the latest advances in digital technologies.
“Therefore, we are excited about the outlook for Schlumberger. We are ready and primed to deliver superior growth, financial returns, and free cash flow in the coming years by building on the broadest technology offering and expertise in the industry, our unmatched scale and operational efficiency, strong capital discipline, and a clear desire to provide industry-leading cash returns to our shareholders.”
Other Events
During the quarter, Schlumberger repurchased 1.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $69.79 per share, for a total purchase price of $97 million.
On February 23, 2018, Schlumberger and Subsea 7 S.A. announced that they entered into exclusive negotiations to form a joint venture that builds on the success of Subsea Integration Alliance, which was established in 2015. The joint venture will be owned 50% by Subsea 7 and 50% by Schlumberger.
On April 18, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share of outstanding common stock, payable on July 13, 2018 to stockholders of record on June 6, 2018.
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