During each earnings season, I await the release from Schlumberger
Schlumberger generated income from continuing operations of $818 million, essentially flat year over year. Looking at the per-share perspective, the company recorded income from continuing operations of $0.68, identical to the second quarter of 2009. But the year-ago quarter included charges of $0.17 a share; when they're backed out, Schlumberger increased its bottom line by 33%.
In the context of its two segments, Oilfield Services revenue rose 10% year over year. And as was the case with Halliburton and Weatherford
In the smaller WesternGeco seismic unit, revenue fell 15% from the prior year, cutting operating income in half. The company indicated that the unit's outlook "will be governed by the evolution of the Multiclient market in the U.S. Gulf." Good luck there, guys.
But despite the tragedy in the Gulf, Gould is convinced that deepwater activity remains important to the industry: "We believe that the contribution of deepwater discoveries has been, and will remain, very significant to future hydrocarbon production."
And while he doesn't see the Gulf of Mexico bouncing back in 2010 (I'd argue that 2011 will also be problematic), Goould answered his call's first question about the sustainability of deepwater activity by saying: "In the last three years, somewhere between 40% and 50% of the new field discoveries have been in deepwater ... So I don't think this is going to significantly slow deepwater in the medium to long term."
That's particularly important when you know that, with only 5% of its revenue coming from the Gulf, Schlumberger is less exposed there than its peers. Speaking of the Gulf, BP
In the meantime, given its worldwide spread and light exposure to the Gulf, I'm inclined to urge Fools to keep close tabs on Schlumberger.
