Weatherford 3Q Tumbles 79% On North American Woes

Weatherford International Ltd.'s (WFT) third-quarter earnings slumped 79% amid weak demand, primarily in North America.

Low natural gas prices have rattled oilfield-service companies' North American performances, even as fairly stable oil prices have helped bolster their international operations.

Weatherford, which has been looking for growth outside the U.S., gained a foothold in the Russian market with its $490 million July acquisition of the oilfield unit of BP PLC's (BP) Russian joint venture. Weatherford also continues its bid to boost its presence in Mexico, one of the few countries where spending for exploration and production has been growing.

The company, which has been cutting jobs and closing operations this year, in July indicated further retrenching may be in the offing. But it hasn't yet made any such moves, and it didn't indicate in Monday's statement whether any are near.

For the third quarter, Weatherford reported a profit of $77.4 million, or 11 cents, down, from $370.6 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as restructuring-related costs and tax benefits, earnings from continuing operations fell to 13 cents from 55 cents.

Revenue decreased 15% to $2.15 billion, as rig count fell 39%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of 13 cents on revenue of $2.15 billion.

Profit tumbled 88% in North America as revenue slid 47% and rig count was down 52%.

Shares closed Friday at $20.58 and didn't trade premarket. The stock has nearly doubled this year.

-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; [e-mail]