“The confluence of elevated commodity prices, demand-led activity growth, and energy security are resulting in one of the strongest outlooks for the energy services industry in recent times—reinforcing the market fundamentals for a stronger and longer multiyear upcycle—absent a global economic setback.
“In this context, energy has never been more essential to the world. Schlumberger, which uniquely benefits from increasing E&P activity and digital transformation, provides the most comprehensive technology portfolio to help customers deliver diverse, cleaner, and more affordable energy.
First-Quarter Growth Led by Well Construction and Reservoir Performance
“Year-on-year revenue growth by Division was led by Well Construction and Reservoir Performance, our core services Divisions, both of which grew more than 20%—outperforming global rig count growth. Digital & Integration revenue grew 11%, while Production Systems revenue increased 1%. Our core services Divisions experienced double-digit revenue growth in drilling, evaluation, intervention, and stimulation services, both on land and offshore. In Digital & Integration, growth was driven by strong digital sales, increased exploration data license sales, and higher revenue from Asset Performance Solutions (APS) projects. In contrast, Production Systems growth was temporarily hampered by ongoing supply chain and logistics constraints, resulting in lower-than-expected product deliveries. However, we are confident that these constraints will gradually abate, enabling backlog conversion and accelerating revenue growth for Production Systems through the rest of 2022.
“On a geographical basis, revenue growth compared to the same quarter last year was broad-based, with international revenue increasing 10% and North America growing 32%. International growth was widespread across all areas, led by Latin America, due to higher drilling in Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil. Europe/CIS/Africa grew primarily from higher Production Systems sales in Turkey and increased exploration drilling in offshore Africa—particularly in Angola, Namibia, Gabon, and Kenya. These increases, however, were partially offset by revenue decline in Russia & Central Asia. Middle East & Asia revenue increased due to higher drilling, stimulation, and intervention activity in Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Australia, and across Southeast Asia. In North America, growth was pervasive across drilling and completions activity, coupled with a strong contribution from our APS project in Canada.
“Year-on-year, first-quarter pretax segment operating income margin expanded due to improved operating leverage from higher activity, favorable offshore activity mix, greater technology adoption, and an improving global pricing environment, which continues to evolve favorably in Well Construction and Reservoir Performance. Digital & Integration margin expanded further, while Production Systems margin was impacted by supply chain constraints.
“Sequentially, the quarter’s revenue primarily reflects the typical seasonal activity decline in the Northern Hemisphere, with the decline in Europe/CIS/Africa more pronounced due to the depreciation of the ruble, as well as global supply chain constraints impacting Production Systems. In contrast, North America and Latin America revenue was essentially flat sequentially. By Division, Well Construction revenue was slightly higher than last quarter as strong drilling activity in North America, Latin America, and the Middle East more than offset the seasonal reductions in Europe/CIS/Africa and Asia. Reservoir Performance, Production Systems, and Digital & Integration were sequentially lower due to seasonal reductions in activity and sales.
“First-quarter cash from operations was $131 million, including a first-quarter build-up of working capital above the usual level, ahead of the anticipated growth for the year. We expect free cash flow generation to accelerate throughout the year, consistent with our historical trend and still expect double-digit free cash flow margin on a full-year basis.
“Moving forward, the outlook for the rest of the year—particularly in the second half—is shaping up very well with both short- and long-cycle investments accelerating. Notably, a number of FIDs for long-cycle development projects have been approved, new contracts were awarded, offshore exploration drilling is resuming, and several customers have announced a significant step-up in their spending plans for this year and over the next few years.
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