Schlumberger Seeing Early Signs of Recovery

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, said there were early signs of recovery in most parts of the world, following a two-year slump in oil prices that put the brakes on global drilling activity.

The company, which derives more than three-fourths of its revenue from international operations, had called the bottom of the cycle in the second quarter.

"The only place where we don't see any signs of recovery at this stage is in Asia", Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard said on a post-earnings call on Friday.

The company reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts' expectations on Thursday, helped by cost cuts and a ramp up in drilling activity in North America.

Schlumberger (SLB) said it expects "solid growth" in the Middle East and Russia in 2017 on a full-year basis, adding that it was also seeing an uptick in investment and activity in Latin America, Europe and Africa.

However, the increase in Latin America, Europe and Africa is not likely to be significant on a full-year basis, the company said.

(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bengaluru)