Sinister Beginning For Halliburton

American oil servicing company Halliburton Co. announced a first-quarter net loss of $65 million because of a big charge related to a pending settlement of asbestos claims.
The loss is 15 cents per share, compared with net income of $43 million in the year-ago period. The latest results included a net loss from discontinued operations of $141 million, or 32 cents per share, related to the $4.17 billion asbestos and silica settlement announced in December 2002.
Halliburton?s profits from continuing operations totalled $76 million, or 17 cents per share, hurt by a charge announced earlier this month of $62 million, or 14 cents per share, related to a troublesome project off the coast of Brazil.
Revenues surged 80 per cent to $5.5 billion from $3.1 billion in the January-March period of 2003. That gain was largely attributed to revenues for Halliburton subsidiary KBR, and its government contract work in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. Halliburton said the company's Iraq-related work contributed about $2.1 billion in revenues and $32 million in operating income in the first quarter.
However, KBR posted an operating loss in the first quarter of $15 million, compared to a $19 million loss in the year-ago period. That loss includes the loss from the Barracuda-Caratinga project off the Brazilian coast.