Schlumberger profit nearly halves as spending cuts weigh

(Reuters) - Schlumberger Ltd , the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, reported a 48.6 percent slump in quarterly profit, as spending cuts by oil producers continued to take a toll.

The decline in global drilling activity and the rate of disruption reached unprecedented levels in the quarter and is expected to continue deteriorating over the coming quarter, Schlumberger Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard said in a statement.

"Our overall outlook for the oil markets remains unchanged with the tightening of the supply-demand balance expected to continue during the rest of the year," Kibsgaard said.

Schlumberger kicks off the earnings for oilfield services providers and its comments are closely watched for trends in the oil industry.

Net profit attributable to the company was $501 million, or 40 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $975 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue fell 36 percent to $6.52 billion. Revenue slumped 55 percent in North America and fell 28 percent outside the region.

The company's pretax operating margin fell to 13.8 percent from 19.4 percent a year ago.

(This story corrects to say Q1 net profit, not loss, was $501 million in paragraph five)

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)