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UPDATE 1-Newpark posts loss on lower drilling activity

Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:00pm EDT

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* Q1 loss/shr $0.14 vs EPS of $0.13

* Q1 revenue $126.9 mln vs $194.7 mln

April 30 (Reuters) - Diversified oil and gas supplier Newpark Resources Inc (NR.N) swung to a first-quarter loss, hurt by decline in North American drilling activity due to falling gas prices.

For the quarter, the company's net loss was $12 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with net income of $11.4 million, or 13 cents a share, a year earlier.

The quarter included pre-tax employee termination and related charges of $2.6 million.

Analysts on average were expecting a loss of 9 cents a day, before items, on revenue of $124.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

"Our first quarter results were negatively impacted by the sharp decline in North American drilling activity, driven by the decline in natural gas prices," Newpark Chief Executive Paul Howes said in a statement.

The company said it had further cut costs in the quarter. Howes said Newpark had cut 28 percent of its headcount since the beginning of 2009.

Shares of the company closed at $2.80 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the alerts, please double click [ID:nWNAB1480] (Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

(arup.roychoudhury@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: arup.roychoudhury.reuters.com@reuters.net))



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