SLB beat expectations for second-quarter profit on Friday, as resilient demand across key markets helped the top oilfield services firm ride out weakness in the Middle East due to the Iran war, sending its shares up 7.2 per cent in morning trading.
Frequent flare-ups in the war, now in its fifth month, have kept a crucial oil-producing region on edge, with Iran now seeking to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea after choking off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Middle East is SLB's biggest market, accounting for 34 per cent of its revenue in 2025. It had warned of a 6-8 cents per share hit in the second quarter due to the disruptions.
"This quarter marked a return to year-on-year revenue growth outside the Middle East," CEO Olivier Le Peuch said.
Revenue from Middle East and Asia dropped 14 per cent to $2.57 billion during the quarter, driven by lower activity and operational disruptions associated with the conflict.
"While activity began to recover in certain countries during the second quarter, the timing of a full recovery remains uncertain and will depend on a durable resolution of the conflict," Le Peuch said, adding that a return to full production capacity is expected to take time.
Halliburton had also cautioned the pace of recovery in the Middle East remained dependent on day-to-day events, after the SLB rival beat expectations for quarterly profit earlier this week.
Still, total revenue during the quarter climbed to $8.97 billion, driven by a 36 per cent jump in North America and a 15 per cent rise in Latin America.
Growth in the region was supported by higher offshore activity, a rebound in US shale oil and gas drilling activity, as well as strong demand for production and recovery solutions, the company said.
In North America, oil and gas rig count rose to 704 during the second quarter, from 699 during the same period a year earlier, according to a survey by Baker Hughes.
SLB posted an adjusted profit of 55 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' estimate of 51 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
