Schlumberger Limited. (SLB): A Hard Habit to Break

A trio of strengths
Kibsgaard also pointed to the company’s ability to integrate its various capabilities “and the growing value it brings to our business.” He continued by noting, “As our customers continue to look for ways to reduce finding, development, and lifting costs, a number of them are now seeking much closer and broader partnerships with us to add up more value from the E&P value chain.”

He also enumerated three keys for the company’s success:

“[O]ur international leadership position in terms of operating margins and shareholder income is as strong as ever, and our international leverage in terms of operating income is approximately 70% of the total.”

“[F]ollowing the restructuring of our land business, we have recently taken the lead in terms of operating margins, also in North America.”

“[W]e have, on average, delivered double-digit growth in earnings per share over the past few years, and we are … looking to extend this trend in 2013.”

The Foolish takeaway
The obvious query for Fools, then, is the extent to which Schlumberger should be tucked into each of our investment portfolios. It seems clear to me that the items I’ve mentioned, coupled with the company’s uninterrupted determination to maintain its technological leadership, along with its size and international spread, renders Schlumberger shares ideal for participating in the all-important energy sector.

The article Schlumberger: A Hard Habit to Break originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor David Smith owns shares of BP. The Motley Fool recommends National Oilwell Varco and Total and owns shares of Apache and National Oilwell Varco.

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