Jan 23 (Reuters) - SLB beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Friday, as the world's top oilfield services provider benefited from the ChampionX acquisition and unveiled plans to return
$4 billion to shareholders this year.
The company closed the $7.75 billion all-stock acquisition of ChampionX last July, adding production chemicals and artificial lift technologies to its portfolio.
Oilfield service providers have followed energy producers in pursuing deals to navigate operational and pricing pressures, as customers rein in spending on new wells and prioritize returns to investors.
The acquisition, which contributed $879 million to total revenue and $206 million in adjusted core profit in the fourth quarter, also helped quarterly revenue from North America rise by about 26% amid softness in the region.
SLB raised its quarterly dividend by 3.5% and said it expects to exceed $4 billion in shareholder returns, through dividends and share repurchases in 2026.
The company reported an adjusted profit of 78 cents per share for the three months ended December 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 74 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
INVESTORS EYE VENEZUELA BOOST
SLB shares have risen 23% since the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, with investors betting that the company will be a big winner as the South American country's dilapidated oil sector is rebuilt.
The company's shares were marginally higher in premarket trading on Friday.
Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro has said SLB and rival Halliburton are among the best positioned companies to benefit from investment in Venezuela.
Earlier this week, Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller on a post-earnings conference call said the company could scale up fairly quickly in Venezuela and added that it was working to secure licenses from the U.S. that allow it to operate in the country.
(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
