Hunting profit flat on weak North Sea, Canada

Energy services firm Hunting posted pretax profit broadly flat on the previous year, but just short of analyst expectations, as a lack of drilling in the North Sea and Canada hit demand for equipment and services.

The company, which provides equipment and services for drilling and completing oil wells, reported underlying profit before tax of $196 million on revenue of $1.3 billion, with demand in the Gulf of Mexico and Asia helping offset weakness in Europe and Canada.

A Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of analysts had found average estimates for pretax underlying profit of 122 million pounds ($204 million) and revenue of 848 million pounds.

 

By Stephen Eisenhammer