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Empresas y finanzas

Halliburton profit jumps, ban to hurt '10 results


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Halliburton Co reported an 83 percent jump in second-quarter profit on Monday, on strong U.S. onshore drilling, but a ban on deepwater activity in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to hurt full year results.

    The world's second-largest oilfield services company, whose shares were up 2 percent in premarket trading, said second-quarter net income rose to $480 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with $262 million, or 29 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

    Excluding a gain from discontinued operations, the company earned 52 cents per share.

    Analysts expected earnings of 37 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, but it was not immediately clear whether the forecasts were comparable with the results.

    Revenue rose 15.8 percent to $4.4 billion. Analysts expected $4.1 billion.

    HALLIBURTON (HAL.NY) based in Houston and Dubai, expects a ban on deepwater drilling in the United States to trim 2010 earnings by 5 cents to 8 cents per share.

    "The tragic incident that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent suspension of deepwater drilling, we believe, will usher in a new regulatory climate and will have a profound impact on how deepwater drilling is performed," the company said in a statement.

    The company, which did cementing work on the blown-out BP Plc well that spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for three months, says it is indemnified under its contract with BP.