Schlumberger narrowly beats profit estimates as costs weigh

By John Benny and Liz Hampton

(Reuters) - Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV scraped past first-quarter profit estimates on Friday as higher costs weighed on a strong performance in its North America business.

The oil industry has benefited from a 7.5 percent rise in U.S crude oil prices in the first quarter as a strengthening global economy and OPEC-led supply cut reduced excess global supplies.

Shares of Schlumberger, considered a bellwether for the oilfield services and drilling industries, were down 1.3 percent at $69.40 in premarket trading as part of a broader decline in oil stocks and prices.

Brent and U.S. crude turned negative after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized OPEC for rising prices that he said were being artificially increased and would not be accepted.

Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services provider, said revenue from North America jumped nearly 52 percent to $2.84 billion.

However, the company's total cost of manufacturing products and delivering services rose nearly 12 percent to $6.80 billion.

Revenue from international operations, the company's biggest segment, fell 0.8 percent to $4.88 billion.

Total revenue rose to $7.83 billion from $6.89 billion.

Net profit attributable to Schlumberger rose to $525 million, or 38 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $279 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 38 cents per share, beating analysts' estimate of 37 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sriraj Kalluvila)