US super-contractor Halliburton posted a net income in the fourth quarter of 2023 that was almost unchanged from a year earlier, after being hit by currency devaluation in Argentina.
Last month, Argentina devalued its currency, the peso, by more than 50% in a move by incoming President Javier Milei to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Net income for the oilfield services giant stood at $661 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the three months ending 31 December, compared to $656 million ($0.72 per share) in the comparable period of 2022, although revenues rose to $5.74 billion from $5.58 billion.
Halliburton incurred a loss of $103 million due to devaluation of Argentina’s currency, which balanced a $101 million hit to its third quarter of 2022 accounts due to interest expenses.
Total revenue for 2023, however, increased 13% year-on-year to $23 billion, a rise of $2.7 billion, which helped generate a net income of $2.64 billion, a huge %67.8% jump from the $1.57 billion posted in 2022.
Operating income for 2023 was $4.1 billion, compared to 2022’s figure of $2.7 billion and an adjusted operating income of $3.1 billion, which excluded impairments and other charges related to the company’s exit from Russia.
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Halliburton chief executive Jeff Miller described 2023 as “a great year” for the contractor, with both of its divisions — completion and production plus drilling and evaluation — achieving their “highest operating margins in over a decade.”
He said the company generated about $2.3 billion of free cash flow during the year, retired about $300 million of debt, and returned $1.4 billion of cash to shareholders through stock repurchases and dividends.
Miller is “excited” and bullish about 2024, stressing that the outlook for oilfield services demand remains strong: “I expect we will deepen and strengthen our value proposition, and generate significant free cash flow.”