North America Carries Halliburton to a 2Q EPS Beat

Powered by a solid performance in North America, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) posted a stronger-than-expected 54% leap in second-quarter profits on Monday.

The Houston-based oilfield-services giant said it earned $739 million, or 80 cents a share, last quarter, compared with a profit of $480 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it earned 81 cents a share. Analysts had called for EPS of 74 cents.

Revenue jumped 35% to $5.94 billion, surpassing the Streets view of $5.71 billion.

Halliburton chalked much of its success up to its North American segment, which posted a 16% rise in sequential revenue. International revenue gained just 8% from the prior quarter.

We have for some time expressed confidence in the strength of the North America cycle, and our results this quarter validate our positive view on the market, CEO Dave Lesar said in a statement. Strong crude prices, operators improved cash flows combined with their ability to access capital, and the increasingly liquids-rich nature of the United States land market, give us continued confidence in the strength of North America through 2012.

Halliburton, which is the No. 2 global oilfield-services company, said its second-quarter EPS was hurt by 5 cents by political sanctions in war torn Libya.

Encouraged by the stronger-than-expected results, shares of Halliburton gained 2.% to $54.15 ahead of the opening bell. The companys stock has outperformed, leaping 30% year-to-date.