Hunting PLC (LON:HTG) saw its shares jump in early trading Thursday after it swung to a profit in its half-year results as strong activity in US shale basins and offshore sentiment improvements boosted its revenues.
The FTSE 250 supplier to the oil & gas industry reported a pre-tax profit from operations of US$38mln for the period, up from a US$25.5mln loss the same time last year, while revenues jumped to US$442.8mln from US$318.1mln previously.
READ: Hunting shares fall as it retains “cautious view" on rate of recovery in wider oil services market
The company also declared an interim dividend of US$0.04 per share, up from nothing in the same period last year as gross margins also expanded to 31% from 22%.
The firm said that the period had seen improved stability in the global oil & gas market, with the increased price of oil and other products encouraging investment in new drilling programmes and the development of US onshore portfolios.
In its outlook, Hunting said it expected the activity to continue into the second half within US onshore basins, while offshore drilling in the US and internationally would “slowly improve”, although ongoing trade headwinds would continue to suppress the rate of recovery.
As a result, the company sounded a cautious note on the performance of its businesses outside of North America, although it reaffirmed the full-year consensus and said it was trading in line with expectations.
Hunting chief executive, Jim Johnson, said that the group’s first half results had been “underpinned by a strong market environment within US onshore completions”, which had led to improving profitability for its operations there.
He added that its non-US segments were seeing “improving segments”, but trade tariffs for steel and a “volatile geopolitical environment” were proving to be headwinds.
Hunting shares were up 10.6% at 839.5p.