Weatherford Q4 GAAP Net Loss Widens; To Cut 5,000 Positions

(RTTNews) - Weatherford International plc (WFT) reported fourth quarter GAAP Net Loss of $475 million, or $0.61 per share, wider than the loss of $271 million or $0.35 per share in the prior year quarter.

Non-GAAP Net Income surged to $252 million or $0.32 per share from $53 million or $0.07 per share in the prior year quarter.

Quarterly revenues were $3.73 billion compared with $3.74 billion in the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of our divested businesses, fourth quarter revenues declined 1% sequentially.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.31 on revenues of $3.89 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said it has commenced a reduction-in-force exercise targeting 5,000 positions, after the plunge in crude oil prices, of which more than 85% are located in the Western Hemisphere. The headcount reduction is expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2015, resulting in expected annualized savings of over $350 million.

"Due to the quickly changing market conditions, we are aligning and reducing our cost as well as organizational structures to match the new environment," Weatherford said in the statement.

During the upcoming year, the company focus will be to generate positive free cash flow from operations, despite challenging industry conditions. The company expects cost actions, a reduction in capital expenditures by $550 million to $900 million in 2015.