Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), the largest provider of fracking services, reported third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as it boosted its dividend.
Net income rose 70% to $1.2 billion, or $1.41 a share, from $706 million, or 79 cents, a year earlier, the Houston-based company said in a statement Oct. 20. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.19 a share, 9 cents more than the average of 31 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 16% to a record $8.7 billion.
“We continue to focus on delivering higher shareholder returns,” Chairman and CEO Dave Lesar said in the statement. “This is evidenced by our 20% dividend increase announced today, which means our quarterly dividend has doubled in the last two years. Also, we repurchased an additional $300 million in stock during the third quarter.”
The earnings were announced before the start of regular trading on U.S. markets. Halliburton rose 3.4% to $54.50 at 8:07 a.m. on Oct. 20 in New York.
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