NOV NOV Inc

   By Maria Armental 
 

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) swung to a profit in the third quarter, helped by a recovery in commodity prices. But results fell short of expectations.

The company reported profit of $1 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $26 million, or 7 cents a share.

Revenue rose 17% to $2.15 billion.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected 11 cents a share on $2.21 billion in revenue.

Chief Executive Clay Williams attributed lower sales to a slowdown in North America.

During the third quarter, the company saw higher demand for conductor pipe connections--a leading indicator of future offshore wells--signaling offshore activity will be picking up, he said.

"We also see pockets of demand strengthening in certain international land markets, as operators respond to generally higher commodity prices," Mr. Williams said in a statement.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2018 19:45 ET (23:45 GMT)

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