Boston, MA 04/28/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) may not be the best company when it comes to the track record in meeting performance expectations. Nonetheless, it has exceeded or met Wall Street expectation in the recent past three or so consecutive quarters. The company expects its strong performance to be the norm as it seeks to improve revenue, decrease expenses and streamline operations.
Therefore, the company eyes to net up to $1 billion by end of this year through the assets divestment. Moreover, the company continues with its job cuts in efforts to trim expenses as part of its corporate turnaround effort.
Encouraging results
Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) shares rose the most in almost five years Friday after it reported strong earnings. Earnings per share in the first quarter were $0.13, better than $0.11 that Wall Street estimated. However, revenue dropped below expectation at $3.6 billion against Wall Street estimate of $3.7 billion.
Future performance optimism
According to Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner, the company expects to reduce or even eliminate its underperforming assets through which it expects to generate between $500 million and $1 billion. Coupled with layoffs that have already started, the executive expects the company to make significant savings that should positively impact future performance.
The company announced a 6,600-job-cut that is expected to be completed in the second quarter. The half of the planned global workforce adjustment was completed in the first quarter.
According to analysts, restructuring at Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) is progressing nicely, and the company should achieve stability before long if the management maintains the tempo. Sterne Agee & Leach analyst Stephen Gengaro rates the stock of WFT a “buy.”
The stock currently carries 15 “buy” ratings from equity analysts, 16 “hold” ratings and two “sell” ratings. In terms of the best performance at the Philadelphia Oil Service Index, Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) is rated as the second-best, up 32 percent this year and only trailing Nabors Industries Ltd at 46 percent this year.
Second quarter outlook
Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) expects second quarter earnings per share in the range of $0.21 to $0.23. Analysts on average expect EPS of $0.18 in the quarter.
