Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) Blames Losses on Charges

In reporting a loss for the first quarter, Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) blamed the losses on charges related to currencies, especially the devaluation by Venezuela of their currency.

Even so, after all the charges, Weatherford still fell short of analysts' expectations, as profits plunged even after removing the charges from the equation.

Much of that is attributed to the increased cost of doing business.

Excluding charges, earnings dropped from 27 cents a share last year during the same quarter to 6 cents a share the latest quarter. Overall losses came in at $40 million, or 5 cents a share, in contrast to profits last year of $164.8 million, or 23 cents a share; a disaster whatever way they want to spin it.

Revenue for the quarter grew to $2.34 billion, a 4 percent gain, while analysts had looked for revenue of $2.54 billion and earnings of 9 cents a share.

Most of the reason for the drop in earnings is from the weak Latin American market, which has been the main growth engine of the company. Earnings in that region plummeted by 66 percent, much of that from the decline in drilling in Mexico.

No comments: