Month: January 2013

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The Grapevine: Baker Hughes

OIlfield Grapevine

Earlier this week, Baker Hughes reported financial results for the final quarter of 2012. As had been telegraphed, earnings were down compared to the same period a year ago. Revenues were off as well. Below are some thoughts regarding what we’ve read and heard from the company’s management and its customers, as well as some input from others in the oilfield:

  • We get the sense Baker Hughes is beginning to re-evaluate some of its strategic assumptions and decisions. For one, management is now rationalizing certain operations in global geo-markets whose prospects are questionable. This seems a smart, if overdue, move. Continue reading “The Grapevine: Baker Hughes”
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Halliburton Looks to the Future

Halliburton Looks Forward

When EnergyPoint published its first-ever survey results in 2004, Halliburton was in the midst of a high-profile juggling act of sorts. The company was grappling with asbestos-related legal issues inherited via its ill-fated Dresser Industries acquisition, even as its now-jettisoned KBR subsidiary was taking flak—both in the media and in political circles—over a series of inutile U.S. military contracts.

At the time, we weren’t sure if these distractions were contributing to the company’s lackluster oilfield customer satisfaction scores. In retrospect, it appears they were.  Halliburton’s ratings improved appreciably once the issues were resolved, as management concentrated on its mainstay energy-services business. Continue reading “Halliburton Looks to the Future”

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Off Target In The Aftermarket

Off Target

Listening to earnings calls of today’s publicly traded oilfield suppliers, it’s easy to come away with the impression that within certain original equipment manufacturers’ post-sale support function has little to do with ensuring customers get the most and best use of the products they purchase. Rather, the function seems more about collecting outsize incremental revenues designed to juice margins.

A number of suppliers openly boast to their investors (but we suspect not to customers) that the increasingly high-tech features embedded in many of today’s oilfield products are good for business expressly because of the future maintenance income attached to the products. Continue reading “Off Target In The Aftermarket”