Energy giant into red

The penalty of pulling out of its takeover of riv a l Baker Hughes plunged energy services giant Halliburton deep into the red during the second quarter.

Houston-based Halliburton said yesterday net losses totalling £2.4billion for the three months to June 30, against profits of about £40million a year earlier, were fuelled by a £2.6billion-plus termination fee for its aborted Baker Hughes deal.

It was announced in May the £ 22billion mega-merger of the two global energy service giants would not go ahead, with the pair citing poor market conditions and “challenges” getting it past regulators.

Halliburton and

“Another challenging quarter”

Baker Hughes were heading for a tie-up to create a business employing more than 136,000 people, including several thousand in the north-east, in more than 80 countries.

The enlarged group would have run energy service market leader Schlumberger close in terms of annual revenue.

In yesterday’s results statement, Halliburton chief executive David Lesar said the group had shown “resilience in the face of another challenging quarter”.

But total revenue was down by more than onethird, at £2.9billion, despite a “seasonal recovery” of activity in the North Sea.

The second quarter losses pushed the halfyear trading deficit to nearly £4.3billion.