Halliburton to cut capex after reporting $1bn loss for Q1 2020

Oilfield services firm Halliburton has reported a net loss of $1bn for the first quarter of 2020 and has outlined its largest budget cut.

Halliburton is expected to cut this year’s capital expenditure (capex) by roughly 50% to $800m, as well as reduce other costs by around $1bn.

Halliburton also booked $1.1bn in pre-tax impairments and other charges to further adjust its cost structure as per the current market conditions.

The company posted a 25% drop in revenue from the region to $2.46bn, while reporting a 5% increase in international revenue to $2.58bn.

In the first three months of this year, Halliburton registered a total revenue of $5bn. This is a 12% drop from the $5.7bn reported in the first quarter of 2019.

Halliburton chairman, president and CEO Jeff Miller said: “As the world is battling the Covid-19 pandemic, I thank our employees for their dedication and focus during these difficult times. The health and safety of our employees and their families is extremely important to me.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and following our own guidelines, as well as those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and state and local governments. On our customers’ work sites and within our facilities, Halliburton people are getting the job done while taking the appropriate steps to protect themselves and others.”

Last October, Halliburton signed an agreement to provide a Cloud-based master data management solution for Spanish energy firm Repsol’s exploration and production (E&P) activities.