Intl operations hold Schlumberger back

Schlumberger posted a 3% sequential drop in revenue to USD 6.894 billion on Friday, mainly on account of a reduction in workload for its Cameron Group across the international arena.

First-quarter revenue was up on a year-on-year basis, however, growing by 3%.

“Among the business segments, the first-quarter revenue declines were led by the Cameron Group, which fell 9% sequentially driven by lower project volumes in OneSubsea and reduced product sales in Surface Systems,” Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard said in a press release.

Compared with the last three months of last year, international revenue took a 7% hit to reach USD 4.92 billion. The company’s performance across Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa was down by 10%.

Revenue from operations in the Middle East and Asia, the company’s most important geography, fell 7% sequentially to USD 2.32 billion.

According to Kibsgaard, the drop in international revenue was “driven by a greater than expected seasonal decline in activity and sales, particularly in China, Russia land, and the North Sea.”

Pretax operating income, at USD 757 million was down 16% year-on-year and 7% sequentially.

“In the first quarter, the North America land market continued to strengthen in terms of both activity and pricing, leading us to begin accelerating deployment of idle capacity for multiple product lines,” the CEO also said.