Halliburton has experienced a Q4 net loss of 54% in its North American operations compared with last year, the US oilfield services company reported on Monday.

Halliburton falls to a loss in Q4

HOUSTON, January 25, 2016 – Halliburton has experienced a Q4 net loss of 54% in its North American operations compared with last year, the US oilfield services company reported on Monday.

The second-largest oilfield services company announced that it experienced a net loss of USD 28 million on full-year revenue in 2015, compared to USD 901 million the year before. Sales dropped 42 percent to USD 5.1 billion from USD 8.8 billion in the same period of 2014.

The group was forced to spend USD 200 million on charges relating to write-offs on its assets and the cost of downsizing personnel, and a further USD 192 million of charges after tax in Q4. This follows booking charges of already USD 257 million in Q3.

Even though declines were high, Halliburton surpassed the industry average. “Total company annual revenue of USD 23.6 billion declined 28% year-over-year, outperforming a 35% decline in both the average worldwide rig count and global drilling and completions spend,” Halliburton president Jeff Miller said.

All this comes during Halliburton’s lengthy USD 26 billion acquisition of US competitor Baker Hughes. The deal has been struck with delays due to regulatory hurdles including an in-depth probe by the European Commission.

North American shale oil has been crippled since OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, refused to cut oil production in November 2014.

Haliburton shares have sunk by 26% over the last year.

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