- NEW YORK (Reuters) - Halliburton
Co., under fire for its work in Iraq, on Wednesday posted a quarterly loss,
reversing a year-ago profit, after taking a charge for a proposed asbestos
and silica settlement.
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- The world's second-largest oilfield services company
posted a net loss of $65 million, or 15 cents a share, in the first quarter,
compared with net income of $43 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.
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- It reported a profit from continuing operations of 17
cents per share, hurt by a charge for the Barracuda-Caratinga deepwater
oil project in Brazil.
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- Analysts on average expected earnings of 31 cents a share,
according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
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- Revenue rose 80 percent to $5.52 billion, mostly because
of the additional government services projects in the Middle East won by
the company's KBR engineering and construction group, the largest contractor
in Iraq.
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- Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney,
is currently under investigation for possible overcharging for fuel and
meals provided to the U.S. military in Iraq. The company has denied any
wrongdoing.
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- Looking ahead, the company is optimistic about the prospects
for its oilfield services business.
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- "We continue to see improvement in the energy services
business," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Dave Lesar
in a statement.
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- "While oilfield activity and pricing was essentially
flat until late in the first quarter, we are beginning to see signs that
customer spending and pricing for our services are improving."
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