Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) Q3 2019 Earnings Conference Call - Final Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Halliburton Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call. At this time all participant lines are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session.

[Operator Instructions]

Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

[Operator Instructions]

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Abu Zeya, Head of Investor Relations. Thank you. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, and welcome to the Halliburton third quarter 2019 conference call. As a reminder, today's call is being webcast and a replay will be available on Halliburton's website for seven days. Joining me today are Jeff Miller, Chairman, President and CEO; and Lance Loeffler, CFO.

Some of our comments today may include forward-looking statements reflecting Halliburton's views about future events. These matters involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from our forward-looking statements. These risks are discussed in Halliburton's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, recent current reports on Form 8-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Our comments today also include non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of impairments and other charges taken during the second quarter. Additional details and reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our third quarter press release and can also be found in the Quarterly Results & Presentations section of our website.

After our prepared remarks, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one related follow-up during the Q&A period in order to allow time for others who may be in the queue.

Now, I will turn the call over to Jeff.

Thank you, Abu and good morning, everyone. As the second half of 2019 unfolds, US and international markets continue to diverge. International activity growth is gaining momentum across multiple regions, meanwhile operators' capital discipline weighs on North American activity levels. That said, our outstanding employees executed effectively in the third quarter. We managed the market dynamics and delivered on our financial results as per expectations.

Let me cover some headlines. Total Company revenue was $5.6 billion and operating income was $536 million, representing decreases of 6% and 3% respectively, compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Our Drilling and Evaluation division revenue was down 4% sequentially, but operating income grew 3% quarter-over-quarter. Our international D&E operating margin increased 180 basis points. Overall D&E margin performance was negatively impacted by weaker demand for our services in North America.

Our Completion and Production division revenue declined 8% sequentially, driven by lower completions activity in North America land. C&P operating margin was essentially flat compared to the second quarter, supported by strong international activity and the execution of our new playbook in North America.

International revenue was flat sequentially, but is up 10% year