Halliburton's net income for the fourth quarter declined 26 per cent on pricing pressures in the North American market and one-time charges from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, as well as acquisitions.

Yet adjusted results beat Wall Street expectations, and shares rose 4 per cent before the opening bell yesterday.

The oilfield services company earned $669 million, or 72 cents per share, for the three months ended December 31. That's down from $906m, or 98 cents per share, a year ago.

Removing one-time charges and gains, earnings from continuing operations were 67 cents per share.

Revenue increased 3 per cent to $7.29 billion from $7.06bn, bolstered by international growth - particularly in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

The company said that its quarterly revenue performance was the highest in its history.

The entire sector is under pressure due to a glut of natural gas in North America. Schlumberger, another oilfield services company, has pushed operations overseas, and while Halliburton had traditionally kept its focus closer to home, it is looking increasingly abroad.

And it's expertise in the epicentre of hydraulic fracturing could give the company cache in countries desperate to use the same technology to ease their energy dependence.-Reuters