UPDATE 1-Smith International Q3 profit falls
* Q3 EPS $0.03 vs EPS $1.00 yr ago
* Revenue falls 34 pct to $1.88 bln
* Sees more favorable industry environment in 2010
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Oilfield services company Smith International Inc (SII.N) posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday as U.S. natural gas drilling remained subdued due to weak demand and prices.
Third-quarter net profit fell 97 percent to $7.0 million, or 3 cents per share, from $209.8 million, or $1.00 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 34 percent to $1.88 billion.
The Houston-based company has been hacking away at its costs this year, bringing its employees numbers down by 18 percent to about 21,000. Its chief financial officer, Margaret Dorman, left the company this month. [ID:nN01295021]
The company said it expects a more favorable industry environment during 2010.
Shares of Smith have gained 32 percent in 2009, compared with a 57 percent rise in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange oil service index .OSX. (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, additional reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)
