Schlumberger's Q2 beats estimates as margins rise after job cuts

Houston

SCHLUMBERGER Ltd is beginning to reap some benefits from more than 20,000 job cuts announced this year to weather the oil-price crash.

The world's largest oilfield services provider earned 88 US cents a share in the second quarter, beating the 79-cent average of 37 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit margins at its international business, which generates about three-quarters of sales, climbed to 24.5 per cent from 24 per cent a year earlier.

The company is the first among the large service providers to report better-than-expected earnings from the second quarter. Explorers are planning to slash more than US$100 billion of spending this year after Brent, the global crude benc…