Baker Hughes: Oil Market Faces“Unusual Set of Circumstances”

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) missed analyst forecasts of adjusted earnings as it reported on Wednesday a set of what it said were “mixed results” for the second quarter of 2022 due to supply-chain inflation and revenue losses from the suspension of its operations in Russia.

Looking ahead, Baker Hughes sees the oil market facing “an unusual set of circumstances and challenges” for the rest of this year and into next year, Simonelli said.

On the one hand, we have a deteriorating demand outlook for oil over the next year and a half due to high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes to fight that inflation, Baker Hughes says.

“On the other hand, due to years of underinvestment globally and the potential need to replace Russian barrels, broader supply constraints can realistically keep commodity prices at elevated levels even in a scenario of moderate demand destruction,” Simonelli added.

“As a result, we believe the outlook for oil prices remains volatile, but still supportive of strong activity levels as higher spending is required to re-order the global energy map and likely offsets demand destruction in most recessionary scenarios,” the executive said.

The oilfield services provider reported today adjusted earnings per share of $0.11 for the second quarter, down from $0.15 EPS for the first quarter of 2022 and well below analyst estimates of $0.21 earnings per share compiled by The Wall Street Journal.  

Following the results release, shares in Baker Hughes crumbled by 6% in pre-market trade in New York.

Revenues at the company stood at $5.0 billion for the second quarter, up by 4% sequentially, but down by 2% year-over-year.

Baker Hughes also reported $426 million of losses related to its Oilfield Services business in Russia which was classified as “held for sale” at the end of the second quarter.  

“Our second quarter results were mixed as each product company navigated a different set of challenges ranging from component shortages and supply chain inflation to the suspension of our Russian operations,” Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes chairman and chief executive officer, said.

Another oilfield services giant, Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), opened the oil and gas industry’s earnings season on Tuesday, reporting a 41-percent surge in its second-quarter adjusted net income amid growing drilling activity both in North America and in international markets, and saying it expects international markets to see “multiple years of growth.” 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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