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Earnings Calls: 
Schlumberger First Quarter Earnings Call
Author: 123jump.com Staff
123jump.com
Last Update: 1:14 AM EDT April 29 2008


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The world’s leading oilfield services company reported Q1 revenue of $6.29 billion versus $6.25 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, and $5.46 billion in the Q1 of 2007. The net income, including discontinued operations, was $1.34 billion or $1.09 per share compared with $1.12 in the previous quarter and 96 cents in the last year quarter. The management is convinced that current investment levels are insufficient to both curb decline and to explore and develop new reserves.


Investors Question and Answers

 
Sequential Earnings Growth | Quarterly Earnings by Year | Quarterly Earnings Growth by Year

Source: Company filings    Q1:March  Q2:June  Q3:September  Q4:December
 
Andrew F. Gould: One of the things that is happening is we were pre-funding re-processing projects where the actual investment on our part was much smaller than in multi-client acquisition, and therefore we had very high pre-funding ratios and they were very often way more than 100%. Our pre-funding ratios in function of the acquisition programs have dropped below 100%, but I would still describe them as healthy and we tend not to commit unless we feel we have an adequate pre-funding ratio.

Pierre Turner: How much are we through the start-up costs and how many rigs we have on IPM and where do you expect that to be at the end of 2008?

Andrew F. Gould: In the last year, we started about 35 rigs. We are going to start another six but they are the Burgos ones in Q2 and I don’t think there will be a huge start-up issue in that, so that leaves another 10 around the world for the balance of the year. It’s safe to assume that the start-up cost element in the quarterly results will decrease from now going forward.

Kurt Hallead (RBC Capital Markets): Is there any opportunity set on land in Brazil or it is mostly going to be the offshore?

Andrew F. Gould: There is some opportunity on land but it is not going to be anything on the same scale as offshore.

Robin Shoemaker (Bear Stearns): You have the statement that you’re 33% third-party content in IPM and that it will be increasing to mid-40s. Is this increasing content of third-party services related to the delays you are experiencing?

Andrew F. Gould: I don’t think it’s a question of delay; it’s more a question of different work scopes.

Robin Shoemaker (Bear Stearns): What should we think about in terms of overall integrated project margins as third-party content increases from 33% to the mid-40s?

Simon Ayat: These don’t attract the same type of margin regionally on our services. Our services are at least the same type of margin we generate or even better. Now, the third party, we do cover our costs associated with them but they are lower margin. The 33% versus the 40% through the year, is not going to affect the overall margins of the projects because the efficiency on the rest of the activity would be more than compensating the small deterioration that a 7% decrease will cause.

Robin Shoemaker (Bear Stearns): You commented a bit on the M&A market in Russia as somewhat over-priced. Can you comment overall on Schlumberger''s acquisition strategy? Can we read into this expanded share buy-back program that there is perhaps a little less attractive acquisition opportunities for Schlumberger?

Andrew F. Gould: In the calculation of the amount of cash available for buy-back, we have assumed the same level of acquisitions as we’ve generally been practicing over the last three or four years. Now, I don’t think you will see us as I’ve said on many occasions make a major acquisition, particularly at these valuations. However, increasingly we will make niche acquisitions largely for parts of our service line that we don’t have or for technology opportunities that we identify. The share repurchase program in itself does not signal and reduction in our acquisition strategy.
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