Darn those "special" charges. Without them, Weatherford International
My difficulty is that I'm not as cavalier as some about dismissing one-time items in evaluating a company's results. At Weatherford, for instance, the company earned $351 million from continuing operations. That worked out to $1.01 a share, which handily beat the $0.83 a share for the first quarter of 2007.
But if you factor in the one-time charges, earnings for the most recent quarter came to $0.76 per share. The special items related to costs were due to Weatherford's cessation of business with sanctioned countries and charges stemming from a continuing restructuring.
Taking into account the softness in the North American market that has affected Schlumberger
Weatherford is something of a one-stop shop for several types of oilfield service equipment, including lift systems and drilling assistance solutions. Because of its key role worldwide in the production of oil and gas, the company's shares have increased in value by more than 70% during the past year. In related news, Weatherford's board of directors has approved a two-for-one stock split to take place in May.
In addition to Halliburton, Weatherford is included among several energy services companies that have told us about their earnings this week. For instance, BJ Services
As to Weatherford's specific investment attractiveness, its role is sufficiently central to oil and natural gas production that the company should be included on the watch lists of Fools with a bent for the energy sector.
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