As our nation struggles with recession or worse, Halliburton profit lifted by international growth

By Anna Driver
HOUSTON (Reuters) -
Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Profile, Research) said on Monday that first-quarter profit rose 6 percent, meeting Wall Street expectations, as customers in markets including the Middle East and Asia spent more on oil and gas exploration and production.

Halliburton and rivals including Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Profile, Research) and Weatherford International Ltd (WFT.N: Profile, Research) have seen faster growth in overseas markets, while North America has slowed.

Record crude oil prices and a two-year high in natural gas futures prices have prompted exploration companies to increase spending, leading to a more optimistic outlook--even in North America--for the oilfield services companies.

"The fundamentals of the world oil and gas market are projecting that the next leg up (sounds like something a dog would do to a fire hydrant) in this extended cycle is near," Dave Lesar, Halliburton's chief executive, said in a statement.
Lesar also said North America "...is much stronger than may have been anticipated just a few months ago." (so much for the environment...)

Halliburton, which opened a headquarters in Dubai last year (ALONG WITH WORLD-COURT-IMMUNE-RETIREMENT PROPERTY FOR THEIR BUSH ERA NEOCON CO-CONSPIRATORS) in a bid to win more international business, said first-quarter profit increased to $584 million, or 64 cents per share, from $552 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 64 cents, according Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 18 percent to $4 billion. (Can we find out what percentage of that was in no-bid contracts?)
thanks and a HT to Satyam at ThinkProgress for this link
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSWNAS851320080421?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews