Oilfield services leader Schlumberger reported a higher-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter earnings and remained cautiously optimistic about 2012 despite the potential for Europe's debt crisis to hurt economic growth and oil demand.
Schlumberger shares rose as much as 4 percent to their highest level in six weeks, even though Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard warned that analysts' first-quarter profit expectations were on the "optimistic side."
A similar warning from the new CEO three months ago knocked 10 cents off estimates for the fourth quarter. The current average first-quarter earnings estimate for Schlumberger is $1.07 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The International Energy Agency cut its oil demand forecast this week, saying the possibility of a credit crunch in Europe could set off a recession that would cut energy consumption.
European gloom also weighed on the minds of the management at General Electric Co, which posted earnings on January 20.
Oilfield service companies have benefited from strong oil prices, which have prompted their energy-producing customers to hike spending by about 10 percent this year, according to a survey by Barclays Capital.
Fourth-quarter net profit rose to $1.4 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $1.0 billion, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share of $1.11 topped the $1.09 that analysts on average were expecting.
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