Oil services giant Schlumberger is buying $10 billion of itself
The company reported fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, and it beat on earnings with revenues virtually in line with expectations.
With the earnings results, Schlumberger announced its board's approval of the buybacks, in addition to the near-complete $10 billion program it started in Q3 2013.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 65 cents, and revenues of $7.7 billion, down 9% year-on-year. It recorded a net income loss from continuing operations of $1 billion.
Full-year revenues fell 27% to $35.5 billion year-on-year, following sharp cuts to its spending on drilling.
"The decrease in land activity was the sharpest seen since 1986, as capex spending by North American customers declined by more than 40%," Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard said in the earnings release.
Wall Street had been expecting adjusted earnings per share of $0.63, versus estimates for $7.78 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Schlumberger is the first big oil company to report earnings for the fourth quarter, during which crude oil prices slid even lower.
Several of the company's clients in various regions cut their budgets, in turn impacting Schlumberger's revenues. The company laid off 10,000 people in the fourth quarter as it adjusted costs.
Shares rose by as much as 2.5% in after-hours trading.