Jan 25, 2016 1 min read

HOUSTON – Hurt by falling oil prices, Halliburton reported a loss for its fourth quarter and said its revenue dropped 42 percent from a year ago.

The Texas-based company provides drilling services to oil and gas operators, which have been cutting their spending due to falling oil prices and demand. They include operators in Washington and Greene counties.

The company reported a loss of $28 million, or 3 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $901 million, or $1.06 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs and costs related to mergers and acquisitions, came to 31 cents per share, topping Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 24 cents per share. Revenue fell to $5.08 billion from $8.77 billion a year ago, narrowly missing Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.1 billion.

For the year, the company reported a loss of $671 million, or 79 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $23.63 billion.