National Oilwell Profit Rises 9.9% on Rig Revenue

   By Angela Chen 
 

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) said its third-quarter profit grew 9.9%, driven by its rig segments.

The results beat Wall Street expectations.

The oilfield-service equipment manufacturer completed the spinoff in May of its distribution segment, a move aimed at creating two separate, publicly traded companies that are better positioned to focus on their specific products and services.

Chief Executive Clay Williams said the company is closely monitoring the potential impact of lower oil prices on markets.

National Oilwell reported a profit of $699 million, or $1.62 a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $636 million, or $1.49 a share. Excluding nonrecurring items, per-share earnings rose to $1.76 from $1.38 a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 17% to $5.59 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a per-share profit of $1.54 and revenue of $5.45 billion.

The company said the backlog for capital equipment orders at its rig-technology business was $14.34 billion, up 2% from the prior year, though down 6.8% from the previous quarter.

New orders in the segment, the company's biggest, were $1.34 billion. The segment reported a 29% increase in revenue to $2.66 billion, while the rig aftermarket segment's revenue grew 18% to $837 million.

Meanwhile, wellbore technologies segment revenue climbed 14% to $1.47 billion, and its completion and productions solutions business posted a 9% revenue increase to $1.19 billion.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

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