April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield services provider Halliburton beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as resilient demand in certain international markets helped offset weakness in the Middle East linked to the Iran war.
Halliburton and peers are yet to benefit meaningfully from a surge in oil prices due to the disruptions caused by attacks on infrastructure in the Middle East and Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as producers have taken a more cautious stance on boosting drilling.
Revenue in the Middle East business declined 12.7% to $1.32 billion, the company said, due to lower across-the-board activity in Saudi Arabia and decreased drilling-related services in Qatar.
Still, revenue in Halliburton's international segment edged higher to $3.3 billion, supported by a 22% jump in Latin America and an 11% rise in Europe and Africa.
"In international markets, our performance around the world outpaced disruptions from the Middle East conflict," CEO Jeff Miller said in a statement.
Halliburton posted an adjusted profit of 55 cents per share for the first quarter, beating analysts' expectations of 50 cents, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
The Middle East conflict had an impact of roughly 2 cents to 3 cents on earnings per share, the company said.
Larger rival SLB , set to report results on Friday, has flagged a 6-9 cent-per-share earnings hit, after the industry bellwether suspended travel and demobilized operations in the Middle East.
"Halliburton's profit beat is a modest positive for the OFS sector," said Zephirin Group analyst Longdley Zephirin, "but it does little to alter the broader narrative of a still-soft market."
Revenue in North America fell 4.5% to $2.14 billion, although Miller said there were "early signs of a recovery".
Halliburton's shares were up marginally at $36.68 in premarket trade. The stock has climbed nearly 30% this year.
Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
Source: Reuters