Earnings Climb at Halliburton

Halliburton (HAL Quote - Cramer on HAL - Stock Picks) said its first-quarter earnings jumped 18.5% from the same period a year earlier, boosted by growth in its international business segment and by proceeds from an asset sale.

The oil service and technology firm earned $584 million, or 64 cents a share, compared to $552 million, or 54 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2007. Revenue increased to $4 billion from $3.4 billion last year.

The results met analyst expectations of 64 cents a share, as measured in a survey conducted by Thomson Financial.

Halliburton generated $2.2 billion in revenue from its well completion and production segment, compared to $1.8 billion during the same period last year. It had revenue of $1.8 billion from its drilling and evaluation segment, compared with $1.6 billion a year ago.

The company's quarterly results were hurt by a $14 million charge related to the impairment of a project in Bangladesh, but was favorably affected by a $22 million sale of a joint-venture interest in the U.S.

A highlight of the quarter was the improved performance of Halliburton's operations in Latin America, where revenue rose 25% year on year. "As more projects come online during the year, this region's prospects continue to expand," said Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar in a prepared statement.

"Our international revenue growth helped offset the production enhancement pricing pressures we knew were coming in the U.S. market," Lesar said.

Halliburton repurchased roughly 10 million shares of stock during the quarter at an average price of $37.26 a share and a total cost of $360 million. About $2 billion remains available in the share buyback.

Shares of Halliburton were recently trading 1.2% lower at $46.83.

Meanwhile, fellow oilfield-services company Weatherford International (WFT Quote - Cramer on WFT - Stock Picks) said its first-quarter profits decreased, but on an adjusted basis topped expectations. Revenue, however, was a bit light.

Additionally, Weatherford set plans for a 2-for-1 stock split. Shares were down 2.6%.

Those reports followed Schlumberger's (SLB Quote - Cramer on SLB - Stock Picks) shortfall Friday, which came despite a 14% climb in quarterly earnings.

Elsewhere in the group, Baker Hughes (BHI Quote - Cramer on BHI - Stock Picks), BJ Services (BJS Quote - Cramer on BJS - Stock Picks) and Smith International (SII Quote - Cramer on SII - Stock Picks) are set to issue their numbers on Tuesday.