July 21 (Reuters) – Halliburton posted a rise in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, as steady demand for its equipment in Latin America, Europe and Africa offset declining activity in the Middle East due to the Iran war.
The Middle East conflict has dominated energy markets this year as repeated flare-ups keep a crucial oil-producing region on edge, even though crude oil prices have not skyrocketed as feared at the start of the war in February.
Now in its fifth month, the conflict has taken a hit on industry bellwethers SLB, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, which reported the sharpest quarterly decline in Middle East revenue in over a year in the first quarter.
But an increase in activity in regions such as Latin America helped weather weakness in the Middle East.
During the second quarter, Halliburton’s total revenue was $5.71 billion, compared with $5.51 billion a year earlier.
The U.S. oilfield services provider said its net income came in at $534 million, or 64 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with $472 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru)