Weatherford International 3Q Profit Drops 79 Pct

NEW YORK (AP) — Weatherford International Ltd. on Monday said weakened demand for North American drilling slashed its third-quarter profits by 79 percent, but an uptick in international revenue helped soften the blow.

Quarterly income for the Switzerland-based oil and gas services provider fell to $77.4 million, or 11 cents per share, from $370.6 million, or 53 cents per share, during the same period last year. Excluding an after-tax loss of 2 cents per share related to severance costs and withdrawal from sanctioned countries, earnings were 13 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue fell 15 percent to $2.15 billion from $2.54 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted income of 13 cents per share on revenue of $2.15 billion. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

North America was primarily responsible for the decline, with revenue tumbling 47 percent against a 52 percent decline in rig count, Weatherford said. International revenues climbed 12 percent, despite an 11 percent decrease in international rig count.

Shares of the company fell 74 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $19.84 in premarket trading.