Halliburton Beats Estimates, as Income Rises Sharply

Halliburton(HAL Quote) said on Wednesday that it beat Wall Street's consensus earnings estimate for the first quarter.

The oil and energy services company earned $109 million, or 25 cents a share. Twenty-five analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting 22 cents a share. The company earned 6 cents in the year-ago period. Operating income totaled $198 million and revenue from continuing operations was $3.1 billion.

Shares of Halliburton, which is based in Dallas, gained $1.06, or 2.8%, to $38.62 at the 4 p.m. close of New York Stock Exchange trading.

"The energy services group continues to provide both earnings and revenue growth, and we are encouraged with the progress resulting from the restructuring of our engineering and construction business," the company said in a statement. "We are well positioned to build upon our excellent performance within North America as well as capture benefits from increased international exploration and production spending by our customers.''