UK energy services company Hunting reduces profit forecast due to lower oil prices

Hunting Plc, a British energy services company, slashed Tuesday its profit forecast for the entire year. This was partly due to the prospect of lower client activity in the remainder of the calendar year as a result of lowered oil prices and a renewed drop in U.S. Natural Gas pricing.

The CEO Jim Johnson stated that "While the outlook for international and offshore sectors of the industry remains firm, the slower-than-anticipated improvement within the U.S. Onshore has led us to a decline in our short term trading expectations."

Hunting reported a 16% increase in core profit for the third quarter, in line with expectations. However, it flagged breakeven trading within its Hunting Titan segment, due to a subdued U.S. Onshore market and low gas prices.

The London-listed firm said that it would be implementing cost-cutting measures in Titan's business to keep up with current market conditions.

The company expects to achieve a core group profit of between $123 and $126 millions in 2024, as opposed to its previous forecast of between $134 million and $138 million.

Hunting has also announced that it has committed $300 million in new borrowing facilities. These include a $200-million revolving loan and a 100-million term loan. (Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(source: Reuters)