Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) has sunk by 7.4 percent during trading so far today despite reporting a 26 percent increase in net income during the third quarter. The company said the rise in profits was due to oil and gas drilling operations expanded across North America.
The company said that for the three months which ended on September 30th it earned $683 million, or 74 cents per share, up from the $544 million, or 60 cents per share, that it earned during the same fiscal quarter in 2010. Income from operations were 94 cents per share. Revenue jumped 40.4 percent to $6.55 billion.
Analysts on average expected the company to report earnings of 91 cents per share on revenue of $6.35 billion.
The Houston based oil services company said that it is pressing forward even though investors are somewhat spooked by the 12.5 percent drop in oil prices compared to the second quarter. The company’s CEO Dave Lesar stated “I continue to believe in the long-term prospects for our business.”
The sector has seen a tremendous push into tapping U.S. oil and natural gas deposits, especially in areas as the Eagle Ford region in Texas and the Bakken region in North Dakote and Montana. That has been proven over the last few days by a number of major takeover deals for company’s holding assets in North American shale projects.
The strong earnings announced this morning have been hindered by news surrounding its role in the oil spill that happened in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The company may be forced to pay BP in order to clear itself from future lawsuits despite denying that it was at fault.
Halliburton currently trades at $34.66 per share.
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