Halliburton 2Q Profit Rises, Boosts Buyback

Halliburton Co. said Monday that its second-quarter earnings rose 20 percent, and it raised its share buyback authorization to $6 billion.

The Houston-based company, which provides drilling services to oil and gas operators, earned $774 million, or 91 cents per share, for the period ended June 30. That’s up from $644 million, or 69 cents per share, a year ago.

The average per-share estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a profit of 92 cents.

Revenue climbed 10 percent, to $8.05 billion from $7.32 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $7.88 billion.

Halliburton also announced that it is promoting Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Miller to president. He will also become a board member. Both appointments are effective on Aug. 1. Miller has served as executive vice president and COO since 2012.

The company also declared a third-quarter dividend of 15 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on Sept. 24 to shareholders of record on Sept. 3.

By the start of trading Monday, the company’s shares had climbed $20.18, or 40 percent, to $70.93 since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index had risen 7 percent. The stock had increased $25.10, or 55 percent, in the last 12 months.

In Monday trading, Halliburton shares rose another 7 cents to $71.

This article appeared in print in the July 22nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.