Schlumberger Limited (SLB) Q4 Profit Plunges 82%, Company To Slash 9K Jobs Due To Tumbling Oil Prices

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB), the world's largest oilfield-services company, traded flat in extended-hours trading Thursday after the oil-related equipment-maker posted quarterly earnings that plunged 82 percent from a year earlier, taking a hit as global oil prices have plunged more than 40 percent since June. The company announced plans to slash 9,000 jobs, or just over 7 percent of its workforce, driven by the decline in commodity prices as it expects lower exploration and production spending in 2015.

Following the report, shares of the Netherlands-based company edged up 0.48 percent to $77 in after-hours trading after the company beat earnings expectations by 5 cents and missed revenue expectations.

Schlumberger’s fourth-quarter net income plunged 82 percent to $302 million, or earnings per share of $1.50, as revenue grew 6 percent to $12.6 billion, compared with a profit of $1.66 billion, or earnings per share of $1.35, on revenue of $12.6 billion in the same year-ago period. Although the company missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates, it beat on earnings per share. Analysts had estimated earnings of $1.46 per share on revenues of $12.72 billion for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.

“The strength of these results demonstrated the resiliency of our business portfolio in the face of activity challenges in 2014 in Brazil, Mexico, and China; reduced spending in deepwater, exploration and seismic activity; unrest in Libya and Iraq; international sanctions in Russia; and the accelerating fall in the price of oil toward the end of the year,” Paal Kibsgaard chief executive officer of Schlumberger, said in the report.

But the combination of the company’s headwinds lowered revenue growth by more than $1 billion, or 2 percent for the year, the company said in the report.

“Demand for oil continues to increase, but significantly higher marketed supply has led to a dramatic fall in oil price,” Kibsgaard said. The company expects decline rates will impact oil-production capacity.

For the full year, the company’s profit dropped 19 percent to $5.44 billion, or earnings per share of $5.57, as revenue grew 7 percent to $48.58 billion, compared with $6.73 billion, or earnings per share of $4.75, on revenue of $45.27 billion in 2013.

Global oil prices peaked at $115 per barrel in July and have dropped more than 40 percent to below $48 a barrel Thursday. In the last six months, shares of Schlumberger have tumbled 33.05 percent to average $97.85 per share. The company's stock peaked as high as $115.90 on July 16, and fell as low as $75.60 Wednesday.

“In this uncertain environment, we continue to focus on what we can control,"

Kibsgaard said.

The report come as Halliburton Co., the world's second-biggest oilfield services company, and Baker Hughes Inc., the world's third-biggest oilfield services company, are scheduled to report quarterly results on Jan. 20. Halliburton announced in November it is buying Baker Hughes for $34.6 billion.