Oil services country Halliburton today posted a narrower quarterly loss as energy services profits grew, but results missed Wall Street expectations and its shares fell 4 per cent.
The Houston-based company posted a net loss for the fourth quarter of $201 million, or 45 cents per share.
That compared with a net loss of $947 million, or $2.17 a share, a year ago when it was hit with higher charges related to its settlement of asbestos claims.
The company, which said earlier this week it had completed the funding for the settlement, said profit from continuing operations was $183 million, or 41 cents per share, up from $146 million a year ago.
Excluding exceptional items, the company posted earnings per share of 43 cents, below analysts' forecasts for profit of 48 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Halliburton's KBR engineering and construction unit is under investigation by the US Department of Justice for alleged overbilling on fuel and food service in Iraq
Shares of Halliburton fell $1.93 to $41.58 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Quarterly revenue fell 5 per cent to $5.2 billion, largely on lower activity on government service projects in the Middle East by KBR.
The company posted a loss from discontinued operations of $384 million, or 86 cents per share, largely reflecting the increase in value of the 59.5 million shares it contributed to its asbestos claims fund.