Shares of Baker Hughes Co. BKR, +1.98% climbed 2.5% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the oil and natural gas company reported second-quarter adjusted profit that surprisingly declined but revenue that rose above expectations, and provided an upbeat demand growth outlook. Net loss for the quarter narrowed to $68 million, or 8 cents a share, from $195 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share slipped to 10 cents from 12 cents, while the FactSet consensus was for a rise to 16 cents. Revenue rose 8.6% to $5.14 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $4.94 billion, oil field services, turbomachinery and process solutions and oilfield equipment revenues all topped expectations. “As we look ahead to the second half of 2021, we see continued signs of global economic recovery that should drive further demand growth for oil and natural gas,” said Chief Executive Lorenzo Simonelli. “Although we recognize the risks presented by the variant strains of the COVID-19 virus, we expect spending and activity levels to gain momentum through the year as the macro environment improves, likely setting up the industry for stronger growth in 2022.” The stock has shed 3.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF XLE, +1.34% has run up 25.6% and the S&P 500 SPX, +1.52% has gained 15.1%.
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