Halliburton Muscles Into Strong Earnings

Already, it appears that Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), the world's second-largest oilfield services company, is benefiting from opening a headquarters in Dubai. And even the soft North American market was generally sound for the company during its very solid third quarter.

For the period, the company reached a profit of $727 million, or $0.79 per share, compared to $611 million, or $0.58 a share, in the third quarter of 2006. It should be noted, however, that $0.15 of the improvement was tied to its ability to recognize foreign tax credits. There was also a $0.02 charge in the quarter related to reserves for environmental matters. The company's consolidated revenues were up 16% to $3.9 billion.

Somewhat surprisingly, Halliburton performed well in all geographic regions, including North America. This is in contrast to sector leader Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB). Nevertheless, CEO Dave Lesar reserved his most ebullient comments for the markets to the east.

"I am pleased with the continuing very strong performance of our Eastern Hemisphere operations this quarter," he said. "Our deployment of capital into these international markets has resulted in Eastern Hemisphere revenue growth of 29% and operating income growth of 40% ..."

And while Schlumberger has decried a softening in U.S. pressure pumping pricing, Halliburton, which also provides pressure pumping services, was able to achieve a 6% revenue growth to $1.85 billion in North America in the quarter. This improvement occurred despite a couple of weeks of shutdowns and evacuations for approaching hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Halliburton was joined in releasing solid results Monday by Weatherford (NYSE: WFT). The remaining big services company, Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), will report later this week, as will deepwater driller Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO). Transocean (NYSE: RIG) will join the mix next week.

Earlier this year, Halliburton simplified its structure into a completion and production (C&P) segment and a drilling and evaluation (D&E) segment. The C&P part involves completion tools, production enhancement, and well cementing. D&E includes drilling services, drill bits, fluid services, and project management.

So, with a pickup in global exploration and production, and with crude prices still sitting above $85 a barrel, I continue to believe that Halliburton deserves Foolish attention. The company is well managed, sports a forward 2008 P/E below 14 times, is growing its earnings nicely, and boasts a return on equity above 37%. Unless I miss my bet, all that is a recipe for a company with nice upside.

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