Halliburton posts fourth-straight quarterly loss as oil rout drags demand

(Reuters) – Halliburton Co posted its fourth-straight quarterly loss on Monday, as the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider struggles with a plunge in demand and lower oil prices.

Even though oil prices have recouped some of their losses from the historic lows of March and April, fresh lockdowns in some parts of the world due to a resurgence in COVID-19 infections is threatening that recovery.

Larger rival Schlumberger NV on Friday posted a third-straight quarterly loss and warned that the recent economic recovery remained “fragile”.

Halliburton, which last year recorded more than half of its business from North America, saw revenue from the region drop 66.6% to $984 million in the third quarter.

Total revenue fell 46.4% to $2.98 billion.

Net loss attributable to the company was $17 million, or 2 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $295 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company took $133 million in severance and other charges, excluding which it posted adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)