Baker Hughes posts loss of $188 million

Baker Hughes, the world’s third-largest oilfield services provider, posted a net loss of $188 million for the second quarter of 2015. This represents a year-on-year decline of 153 percent from $359 million during the same period in 2014.

Revenues stood at $3.97 billion, representing a year-on-year drop of one-third from $5.94 billion. Costs had also fallen, but at a lower rate, from $5.3 billion to $4.11 billion.

The company’s North American revenues, which accounted for almost 38 percent of the total, experienced a year-on-year fall of 47 percent to $1.50 billion, highlighting weakness in the market. Rival Halliburton, which is in the process of acquiring Baker Hughes for an estimated $32 billion, saw a 39-percent year-on-year decline in North American revenues for the second quarter.

“Looking ahead to the second half of 2015, we expect these unfavorable market dynamics to persist,” Baker Hughes CEO Martin Craighead said in a statement.

Craighead also pointed to an international decline in rig rates, particularly in shallow and onshore markets including Europe, Africa and the Russian Caspian region. The Middle East may see slight growth, though this will be offset by decline in the Asia-Pacific region.