Halliburton reported first-quarter net loss of $65 million because of charges related to a pending settlement of asbestos claims.
The oilfield services conglomerate's net loss of 15 cents per share compared with net income of $43 million, or a dime a share, in the year-ago period.
The loss reported included a net loss from discontinued operations of $141 million, or 32 cents per share, related to the $4.17 billion asbestos and silica settlement announced in December 2002.
Houston-based Halliburton said profits from continuing operations totaled $76 million, or 17 cents per share, hurt by a charge announced earlier this month of $62 million, or 14 cents per share, related to a troublesome project off the coast of Brazil.
Revenues for the quarter were $5.5 billion, up 80 per cent from $3.1 billion in the January-March period of 2003.
That gain was largely attributed to revenues for Halliburton subsidiary KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, and its government contract work in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Halliburton said the company's Iraq-related work contributed about $2.1 billion in revenues and $32 million in operating income in the first quarter.
Halliburton was once run by US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney. Who left the company in 2000 to be George W. Bush's running mate.