Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) Monday posted a 5% gain in fourth-quarter net income despite reduced demand for services in North America and Russia amid falling energy prices and a stronger dollar.

The oil-field services provider's net income rose to $348.1 million, or 50 cents a share, from $331 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 20% to $2.63 billion amid an 8% increase in rig count. The company's performance was largely in line with the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who expected, on average, earnings of 52 cents a share on revenue of $2.61 billion.

Despite a pullback in crude-oil and natural-gas prices, profit from North America rose 9% as revenue climbed 12%. Latin America saw the strongest growth, with revenue up 52% from the year-earlier quarter, and strong results in Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia.

During a conference call on the earnings Monday, Weatherford Chief Executive Bernard Duroc-Danner said that international oil field expenditures could sink between 10% and 12% in 2009 because of falling oil prices.

Oil prices have plunged more than 70% from their record highs above $145 a barrel hit in July 2008.

Still, Duroc-Danner said Weatherford's international business will experience double-digit growth as long as oil prices average $40 a barrel.

Natural gas prices have also plunged, with the front-month futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange falling more than 65% from a summer peak of $13.694 a million British thermal units. The price decline and the credit crunch forced U.S. natural gas producers to rein in spending, idling rigs and cutting production-growth forecasts.

Duroc-Danner said he expects the U.S. rig count to fall near 1,000 - which would represent a substantial decline from the current levels.

The U.S. rig count stands at 1,515, according to data from the oil field-services company Baker Hughes International Inc. The count has fallen by 516 rigs from its fall peak.

"We will take advantage of this major pullback to permanently change our cost structure in North America. Long term, North America needs technology and lower delivery cost," Duroc-Danner said. "We aim to deliver both." Even as large, cash-rich energy companies are seen as potential acquirers of assets, Duroc-Danner played down Weatherford's interest in acquisitions, saying the company favors holding onto cash.

"There is a strong bias against pursuing acquisitions, unless they are compelling," Duroc-Danner said.

-By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com

(Shirleen Dorman and Katherine Wegert of Dow Jones Newswires in New York contributed to this report.)

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