US OILFIELD service group Baker Hughes posted third-quarter results yesterday and said activities in the UK North Sea were among operations seeing the sharpest decline in revenue.
Houston-based Baker, which this year has been linked with significant potential job cuts in Aberdeen, said reduced revenue from the UK, continental Europe, Angola and Libya more than offset progress elsewhere in its Europe/Africa/Russia/ Caspian business.
Third-quarter net profits across the group slid by 87% year-on-year to £33.3million as the oil and gas industry struggled to recover from a downturn. Overall revenue in the latest period was down by 26% at £1.35billion.
Baker Hughes, which is buying smaller rival BJ Services in a £3.33billion deal to compete better with the likes of Schlumberger and Halliburton, said third-quarter profits were hit by costs of about £23million associated with reorganisation, severance and acquisition.
Baker and BJ Services employ more than 2,000 people in the Aberdeen area, but with little overlap between their products and services any impact on jobs in the north-east is likely to be minimal.
Last month, it was reported that about 150 Aberdeen workers at subsidiary Baker Oil Tools had received letters from the company warning they could be paid off.
It was understood that just 45 of this number might eventually go, however.