After “Year of Record Profit,” Halliburton Earnings Plummet

By Jeremy Scahill

Aw, sad news for the poor little war profiteers from Dick Cheney’s “former” company. The Wall Street Journal is reporting, “Halliburton Co.’s first-quarter net income fell 35% amid a steep downturn in North American drilling activity and lower prices.”

The paper dryly notes, “The oil-field services company is coming off a year of record profit that isn’t likely to be duplicated this year as demand and prices have retreated.”

According to the WSJ:

Halliburton reported net income of $380 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $587 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest period included two cents a share in restructuring costs. Revenue decreased 3% to $3.91 billion.

Then there is this creative description of lay-offs in the WSJ:

Tim Probert, Halliburton’s executive vice president of strategy and corporate development, said the company reduced North America head count by 12% in the first quarter.