Weatherford (WFT) Q3 Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss Estimates

Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE:WFT) reported third-quarter 2018 adjusted loss of 10 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 13 cents and a loss of 22 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Total revenues amounted to $1,444.0 million, down from $1,460.0 million in the year-ago quarter. The figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,517.0 million.

Results were affected by lower activity in the United States and the Middle East along with unfavorable foreign exchange impacts. This was partially offset by spring breakup in Canada and higher activity in the Continental Europe and Asia.

Operational Performance

The leading oilfield services company realigned its organization into two operating segments — Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere — during the fourth quarter of 2017. The Western Hemisphere includes the previous North America and Latin America businesses as well as land drilling rig operations in Colombia and Mexico.

The Eastern Hemisphere segment comprises the previous Middle East/North Africa/Asia Pacific segment and Europe/SSA/Russia segment as well as land drilling rig operations in the Eastern Hemisphere. Research and development expenses will be incorporated in the Western and Eastern Hemisphere segment results.

In the third quarter, revenues from Western Hemisphere totaled $762 million, down 0.9% sequentially and 0.7% year over year. Revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $812 million. Lower activity in the U.S. rig counts and unfavorable foreign exchange impacts led to the decline. This was partially offset by spring breakup in Canada.

Revenues in Eastern Hemisphere totaled $682 million, up 0.4% sequentially but down 1.6% year over year. Revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $710 million. The sequential rise was propelled by higher activity in the Continental Europe and Asia, which was partially offset by lower activity in the Middle East. The year-over-year fall can be attributed to negative impact on foreign exchange rates in Russia.

Liquidity

As of Sep 30, Weatherford had $393 million in cash and cash equivalents. Long-term debt amounted to $7,626 million. The company spent approximately $55 million in capital expenditures during the reported quarter.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Weatherford carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked players in the same sector are Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE:MUR) , Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:E) and Eni SpA (NYSE:E) . All these stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

El Dorado, AR-based Murphy Oil is a global oil and gas exploration as well as production company. It pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 96.5% in the last four quarters.

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge is a leading energy infrastructure company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 35.3% in the trailing four quarters.

Based in Rome, Italy, Eni is among the leading integrated energy players in the world. The partnership reported a negative earnings surprise of 0.3% for the last four quarters.

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