M&A

3 November, 2009

UPDATE 2-Cameron profit tops estimates, raises forecast

* Q3 EPS ex-items 56 cts, tops Wall St view of 53 cts

* Revenue down 18 pct to $1.23 bln

* Increases full-year forecast again

* Shares flat in premarket trade (Recasts, adds analysts' forecast, details)

NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Cameron International Corp (CAM.N) posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year forecast for the second time in three months on strong orders for its oilfield services.

Oilfield service companies have seen revenue slump in the past year as their oil and gas producing customers have cut spending on new projects. But a recent rebound in crude oil prices and hopes that an economic rebound will boost natural gas demand have prompted some companies to develop new wells.

Cameron's third-quarter net income fell to $124.9 million, or 56 cents per share, from $163 million, or 71 cents per share, in the same quarter a year before. Revenue fell 18 percent to $1.23 billion.

Excluding a one-time charge for employee severance costs, Cameron's earnings per share of 58 cents topped analysts' average forecast of 53 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company raised its forecast for full-year profit to $2.26 to $2.30 per share. In August it raised its forecast to $2.15 to $2.25 per share. The new forecast is higher than the $2.21 that analysts expected.

Cameron's backlog rose to $5.12 billion at the end of the third quarter from $5.02 billion at the end of the second quarter. Orders received exceeded revenue during the quarter for the first time since the third quarter of 2008.

Since the August forecast, Cameron shares have risen 12 percent, compared with a 4 percent rise in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange oil service index .OSX.

In late September, the company struck a $500 million subsea equipment deal with Petrobras (PETR4.SA) in the offshore Brazil market. [ID:nN28107094]

Cameron is also putting the finishing touches on its $780 million acquisition of NATCO Group Inc (NTG.N). [ID:nN0121780] (Reporting by Matt Daily, additional reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)

Source: http://www.reuters.com