Halliburton swings to quarterly loss as North American demand dips

Oil field services giant Halliburton swung to a third quarter loss as its North American business continued to suffer from sluggish demand due to the oil price retreat.

The Wall Street-listed company said on Monday that its third-quarter loss amounted to $54m, compared with a $1.2m profit it posted in the corresponding period in 2014, while revenue tumbled 36% year-on-year to $5.58bn.

The drop in revenue was largely driven by a 47% year-on-year slump in the revenue in the group’s North American business, where demand for its services has slumped.

Halliburton, which is in the process of acquiring sector peer Baker Hughes in a deal worth $35bn, said weak oil prices and a decline in drilling activity across global markets have had a negative impact on the sector.

This result followed that of Schlumberger, the world’s biggest oil field services provider, which last week posted a 49% decline in profit, again blaming weak commodity prices and sluggish demand.

Halliburton shares were down 1.22% to $37.35 at 1435 BST on Monday.