Cameron 3Q net income rises 36 pct

HOUSTON (AP) — Cameron posted a 36 percent spike in profit during the third quarter on booming sales of the drilling equipment it sells, but shares tumbled on lackluster expectations for the rest of the year.

But the Houston oil industry equipment manufacturer issued a weak profit prediction for the current quarter and its shares fell 5 percent in morning trading.

Cameron earned $223.6 million, or 90 cents per share, up from $164.5 million, or 67 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding $3.4 million in pre-tax one-time charges, mainly related to integration costs, the company posted an adjusted profit of 91 cents per share for the recent quarter.

Revenue jumped 32 percent to $2.22 billion from $1.69 billion, as sales of drilling and production systems increased 31 percent to $1.28 billion. Sales of valves and measurement equipment rose 23 percent to $536 million, while sales of process and compression systems surged 47 percent to 402.6 million.

The results were better than Wall Street expected. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 88 cents per share on $2.18 billion in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

Total orders rose 15 percent to $2.3 billion, while the company's backlog rose 30 percent from year-ago levels to $7.6 billion.

Cameron said it expects to post an adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 95 cents to 97 cents per share, while analysts expect $1.08 per share.

Cameron shares fell $2.55, or 5 percent, to $48.69 in morning trading.