BJ Services guides for 4Q profit above analysts

BJ Services Co., an oilfield services company, on Tuesday issued a fiscal fourth-quarter profit prediction above Wall Street estimates, citing expectations of increased drilling and margin improvements.

BJ Services said it expects to post a profit of 54 cents to 57 cents per share for the quarter ending in September, while analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a profit of 50 cents per share.

BJ Services said it expects drilling activity in the United States to grow 3 percent to 4 percent from the fiscal third quarter.

At the same time, the company said it expects meaningful positive contributions from its Canadian operations, along with modest sequential revenue and margin improvement at its international operations.

In morning trading, shares of BJ Services rose $2.64, or 8.8 percent, to $32.65. The stock earlier traded at a new year high of $34.94 after ranging from $19.30 to $33.72 over the past 52 weeks.