Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) reported a second-quarter loss and lower revenues compared to the same time last year, and said it believes the North American oil market has turned around.
The oilfields services company posted an adjusted loss per share from continuing operations of $0.14, better than analysts' median estimate for -$0.19, according to Bloomberg. Revenues totaled $3.84 billion ($3.76 billion expected.)
"We believe the North America market has turned," said Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar in the earnings statement. "We expect to see a modest uptick in rig count during the second half of the year."
Halliburton's North American revenues fell 15% to $1.5 billion during Q2.
Lesar said there were still challenges in the Middle East and Asia, where revenues declined 3% from the first quarter.
The company's count of oil rigs fell 15% year-on-year, smaller than the average US count's decline by 23%. The company said it believes the count reached a "landing point," as rising oil prices gave more producers confidence to bring more rigs online.
In the last week of June, the US oil rig count rose by 11, the most since six months, according to Baker Hughes. The tally's steep decline in the wake of the worst oil-price crash in decades stabilized around mid-May.
The company noted that in Q2, it paid Baker Hughes a $3.5 billion termination fee following the scrapping of their $28 billion merger. The deal faced strong opposition from regulators in the US and in Europe.
Halliburton shares were little changed in premarket trading after the earnings release. They've gained 32% this year.