Schoeller-Bleckmann reports 4.3% fall in operating profit

SBO AG

22/08/2019 08:40

VIENNA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Austrian oilfield equipment
producer Schoeller-Bleckmann (SBO)  SBOE.VI  on Thursday
reported a 4.3% fall in second-quarter operating profit,
reflecting weaker demand from North American exploration and
production companies. 
    Operating profit fell to 17.7 million euros ($19.6 million)
in the April-June quarter. Adjusted for restructuring measures
the decline was 0.7%. 
    SBO builds highly specialised oilfield exploration
equipment, such as odd-angle drilling and fracking gear, for a
range of energy companies. 
    Rising exploration activity in the United States and Canada
helped it recover from a downturn a few years ago, but
exploration and production companies are becoming increasingly
cautious and are strongly focusing on cost cutting, SBO said.
    "The high budget discipline of the exploration and
production companies is reflected in the United States ... in
particular, where exploration and production spending is
expected to drop by around 10%," SBO said.
    It said demand was solid in South America, the Middle East,
the North Sea region and East Asia. 
     "We want to make even better use of this overall situation
also for our well completion business and are preparing
ourselves for growing internationalisation in this sector,"
Chief Executive Gerald Grohmann said.
    Schoeller-Bleckmann said it will combine its well completion
subsidiaries Downhole Technology and Resource Well Completion
Technologies. The two sites in Houston, Texas and Calgary,
Alberta, will remain in place. 
    Group sales grew 8.7% to 115.1 million euros in the second
quarter, buoyed by high demand for its repair and housings
services for tools and machines. It expects that demand to stay
strong, especially outside North America.
    ($1 = 0.9023 euros)

 (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle and Riham Alkousaa
Editing by David Holmes)
 ((kirsti.knolle@thomsonreuters.com; +43 1 53112 255;
www.reuters.com))