Baker Hughes exceeds profit forecasts on international drilling demand

Baker Hughes, a drilling equipment and oilfield technologies company, beat Wall Street's third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday.

Oilfield Services Companies have been able to offset some of their declines in North America due to the robust activity on several international markets.

Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Lorenzo Simonelli Group, said in a press release that he was confident about achieving the midpoint for EBITDA.

Baker Hughes, a Houston-based company, has benefitted from several LNG projects as energy companies rush to build new LNG production facilities in anticipation of long-term demand.

The revenue from the industrial and energy technologies segment increased 9% from a previous year to $2.95billion.

Baker Hughes, a manufacturer of power-generating turbines, signed several contracts in the Middle East this year for projects other than LNG with companies like Saudi Aramco.

SLB, a larger rival, said last week that natural gas projects are expected to increase in Asia and the Middle East as well as the North Sea regardless of the decisions made by the OPEC+ producers alliance on production limits.

Baker Hughes reported that revenue from its oilfield equipment and services segment grew 4% on international markets. This was boosted by a growth of 34% in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The company reported that revenue from oilfield services declined by 6% between Middle East and Asia - a region where drilling has increased since the pandemic.

North America revenue fell by 9%.

The total revenue for the third quarter of $6.91 billion was below expectations of $7.22 Billion.

Baker Hughes reported an adjusted profit per share of 67 cents for the three-month period ended September 30, compared to the average analyst expectations of 61 cents.

(source: Reuters)