NEW YORK (AP) — Halliburton Co. on Monday reported a narrower first-quarter loss as greater demand for domestic drilling services boosted revenue.
The provider of drilling services to oil and gas operators reported a loss of $32 million, or 4 cents per share, compared to a loss of $2.41 billion, or $2.81 per share, a year prior when it had hefty charges.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 3 cents per share.
The Houston-based company said drilling activity increased rapidly in North America during the first quarter. Revenue rose 12 percent to $4.28 billion, meeting Street forecasts.
Halliburton shares have fallen 13 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased almost 5 percent. The stock has increased 15 percent in the last 12 months.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HAL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HAL
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