Saipem, Baker Hughes, Halliburton and SLB collect almost $1.5 billion in profit

Against the backdrop of supply chain challenges, elevated prices, trade wars, and geopolitical and economic pressures, four oilfield services giants – Italy’s Saipem and U.S.-headquartered Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and SLB – have reported a combined profit of $1.49 billion in the first quarter of 2025.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) pointed out last year that a strong focus on oil security would be critical throughout the clean energy transition for governments across the globe, as a consequence of the continued need for oil to fuel cars, trucks, ships and aircraft, as well as to produce the petrochemicals necessary to manufacture countless everyday items.

“As nearly 200 countries recognised at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai in December, the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels if it is to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. However, while the world’s dependence on oil is lessening, it remains deep-rooted, so supply disruptions can still cause significant economic harm and have a substantial negative impact on people’s lives,” highlighted the IEA.

Ed Crooks, Wood Mackenzie’s Vice Chair Americas and host of Energy Gang podcast, has underlined that the drop in oil prices, taking U.S. crude to about $60 a barrel last week, raised concerns about the outlook for the U.S. energy industry. The looming woes due to price volatility are fast becoming a global concern for many oil and gas producers.

This comes after Travis Stice, Chief Executive of Diamondback Energy, a leading oil producer in the Permian basin warned that the tailwinds provided by improvements in technology and operational efficiencies were being outweighed by those from more challenging geology, reaching “a tipping point for US oil production at current commodity prices,” with a drop in activity forecast, leading to oil production decline due to a slump in oil prices.

While the Trump administration is set on lowering fuel prices for consumers and boosting oil and gas production, these two things are far from being a match made in heaven, as a downturn in prices usually causes many players to defer their original investment plans, delay projects, and curtail production levels to ensure profitability.

Baker Hughes’ report from the beginning of 2025 listed 589 rigs as being engaged in drilling for oil and gas in the U.S. waters, but the number went down to 584 last week, with no evidence of a renewed drilling boom in Crooks’ view, who underlines that worries over the outlook for global economic growth and the decision by some OPEC+ countries to step up production left their mark on crude prices.

Wood Mackenzie elaborated: “Taking the economic impact of the latest tariff announcements into account, we have cut out our oil rig count forecast by 10%, and the 2026 production outlook has shifted to a decline of 40,000 b/d. That projection of a broadly flat outlook for Lower 48 oil production is an important corrective to some of the excitable headlines that have been circulating about ‘peak shale.’ 

“In fact, a slowdown in activity now might actually help push back the peak (which is more accurately described as a plateau). Wood Mackenzie has for a while been projecting that as the best drilling locations get used up, US oil production will reach a plateau and stop growing around 2029. Less drilling now could mean that the inventory of high-quality locations lasts for longer.”

While this quarterly season brought the European and U.S. oil and gas majors a combined profit of around $28.73 billion, six offshore drilling players secured a total backlog of $31.17 billion in the first quarter of 2025.

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The Italian player achieved a net profit of €77 million (around $85.4 million) in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of over 35% compared to the same period last year, when the firm reported €57 million in the corresponding quarter of 2024. The firm’s revenue hit €3.52 billion (over $3.9 billion) in Q1 2025, which is higher than €3.05 billion (almost $3.4 billion) in the first quarter of 2024.

Saipem’s adjusted EBITDA was €351 million (more than $389 million), equal to 10% of revenue, compared to €268 million (over $297 million) in the corresponding quarter of 2024, equal to 8.8% of revenue. The company won new contracts amounting to €2.12 billion (more than $2.35 billion) in Q1 2025 compared to €2 billion (around $2.22 billion) in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

The Italian giant’s backlog reached €32.7 billion (nearly $36.3 billion), which is lower than €34.1 billion (about $37.8 billion) as of December 31, 2024. The amount increases to €32.8 billion (almost $36.4 billion), including the backlog of non-consolidated companies, compared to €34.3 billion (close to $38.1 billion) as of December 31, 2024.

The U.S.-headquartered firm secured orders of $6.5 billion in Q1 2025, 14% lower than $7.5 billion in Q4 2024, but at the same level as $6.5 billion in Q1 2024. The firm’s Oilfield Services & Equipment segment won orders amounting to $3.3 billion in Q1 2025, which is 12% lower than $3.7 billion in Q4 2024 and 9% down from $3.6 billion in Q1 2024.                 

Baker Hughes’ revenue for the quarter was $6.4 billion, a decrease of 13% sequentially from $7.4 billion in Q4 2024 and up $9 million year-over-year, driven by an increase in IET and partially offset by a decrease in OFSE. The U.S. player’s net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $402 million, a decrease of $777 million sequentially and $53 million year-over-year.

The firm’s adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $509 million, which excludes adjustments totaling $108 million. The amount is 27% lower than $694 million in Q4 2024 and 19% higher than $429 million in Q1 2024. The company’s adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2025 of $1.04 billion, which excludes adjustments totaling $140 million, was down 21% sequentially and up 10% year-over-year.

While the sequential decrease in adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by lower volume in both segments, partially offset by productivity and structural cost-out initiatives, the year-over-year increase in both was driven by increased volume in IET including higher proportionate growth in Gas Technology Equipment (GTE) and productivity, structural cost-out initiatives and higher pricing, partially offset by decreased volume and business mix in OFSE and cost inflation in both segments.

Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes’ Chairman and CEO, stated: “The operational transformation and streamlining efforts have created a solid foundation to optimize margins and enhance returns, even in a challenging environment. In our IET segment, we booked $3.2 billion of orders, including our first data center awards, totaling more than 350 MW of power solutions for this rapidly evolving market.

“In addition to expanding opportunities for data centers, we have a strong pipeline of LNG, FPSO and gas infrastructure projects that support our order outlook for this year. In OFSE, EBITDA remained resilient as our margins saw noticeable improvement compared to last year even while segment revenue fell. This is a testament to the team’s hard work in changing the way the business operates.

“Although our outlook is tempered by broader macro and trade policy uncertainty, we remain confident in our strategy and the resilience of our portfolio. We believe Baker Hughes is well positioned to navigate near-term challenges and deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value.”

The U.S. giant’s net income of $204 million for the first quarter of 2025 is lower than the $606 million achieved in the first quarter of 2024. The firm’s adjusted net income in the first quarter of 2025, excluding impairments and other charges, was $517 million, compared to adjusted net income of $679 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Halliburton’s total revenue for the first quarter of 2025 was $5.4 billion, compared to a total revenue of $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The U.S. player’s operating income was $431 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the operating income of $987 million in the first quarter of 2024. The adjusted operating income, excluding impairments and other charges, was $787 million in the first quarter of 2025.

Jeff Miller, Halliburton’s Chairman, President and CEO, underlined: “We delivered total company revenue of $5.4 billion and adjusted operating margin of 14.5%. Our first quarter international tender activity was strong, Halliburton won meaningful integrated offshore work extending through 2026 and beyond. Customers awarded Halliburton several contracts that demonstrate the strength of our value proposition and the power of our service quality execution.

“I am excited by the strong adoption of our groundbreaking technologies. We achieved the world’s first closed-loop, autonomous fracturing operation. I believe this unlocks the next big step in unconventionals. I firmly believe that despite recent pressures on the energy macro, Halliburton’s consistent focus on technology, collaboration, and service quality execution create value for our customers and drive long-term success for Halliburton and its shareholders.”

The U.S. player’s revenue of $8.49 billion in Q1 2025 dropped 9% sequentially from $9.3 billion in Q4 2024 and 3% year-on-year from $8.71 billion in Q1 2024. The net income attributable to SLB of $797 million decreased 27% sequentially from $1.1 billion in Q4 2024 and 25% year-on-year from $1.07 billion in Q1 2024.

The company’s adjusted EBITDA of $2.02 billion went down 15% sequentially from $2.4 billion in Q4 2024 and 2% year-on-year from $2.06 billion in Q1 2024. SLB’s cash flow from operations of $660 million increased by $333 million year-on-year.

Olivier Le Peuch, SLB’s Chief Executive Officer, emphasized: “First-quarter adjusted EBITDA margin was slightly up year on year despite softer revenue as we continued to navigate the evolving market dynamics. It was a subdued start to the year as revenue declined 3% year on year.

“Higher activity in parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Argentina and offshore U.S., along with strong growth in our data center infrastructure solutions and digital businesses in North America, were more than offset by a sharper-than-expected slowdown in Mexico, a slow start to the year in Saudi Arabia and offshore Africa, and steep decline in Russia.

“The expansion of our accretive margin digital business and the strength of our Production Systems division, combined with our cost reduction initiatives, have driven another consecutive quarter of year-on-year adjusted EBITDA margin growth. These results demonstrate SLB’s resilience in changing market conditions.”

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