Bad weather chills Superior's bottom line

By Upstream staff 

US oilfield services player Superior Well Services posted a lower quarterly profit, missing market estimates, hurt by adverse weather conditions in the Appalachian region and increased competition leading to pricing pressures.

For the first quarter, the company earned $2.4 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with $9 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 22% to $93.4 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 31 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $94.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Quarterly revenue was hit by winter weather conditions in the Appalachian region that saw revenue drop by $9.8 million sequentially, the company said in a statement.

"During this quarter, we continued to face increased competition in many regions, which hampered our ability to pass through the labour, material and fuel cost increases we have experienced," company boss David Wallace said in a statement.

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08 May 2008 12:28 GMT  | last updated: 08 May 2008 12:28 GMT