Halliburton, which has been hurt by a slowdown in oil drilling, reported a surprise profit in the last quarter after posting a loss in the same quarter a year ago.
Shares of the oilfield service's company rose Wednesday after the results were announced.
Halliburton has suffered as its customers, which include oil and gas companies, have cut down on oil drilling due to falling oil prices. The company said Wednesday that it expects more oil drilling to occur as oil prices tick up.
"Things are getting better for us and our customers," said Halliburton CEO and Chairman Dave Lesar in a statement.
The Houston company reported net income of $6 million, or 1 cent per share, in the three months ending Sept. 30. In the same quarter last year, it reported a loss of $54 million, or 6 cents per share.
The company results beat expectations. Wall Street analysts expected a loss of 7 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.
Part of the reason for the improvement was because Halliburton did not have to pay termination fees and other costs related to its scuttled $34 billion acquisition of rival Baker Hughes.
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Halliburton said revenue fell 31 percent from a year ago to $3.83 billion, which did not meet Street forecasts. Analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.9 billion.
Shares of Halliburton Co. rose $2.16, or 4.6 percent, to $49.23 in afternoon trading Wednesday.
