8-KEarnings & ResultsExhibits & Filings

SLB LIMITED/NV 8-K Report, Financial Results (Jan 23, 2009)

Filed January 23, 2009For Securities:SLB

Summary

SLB LIMITED/NV (SLB) filed an 8-K on January 23, 2009, to report its Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2008 financial results. The filing includes a press release and supplemental information, which contain both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. This provides investors with a comprehensive view of the company's performance and financial condition at the close of 2008. The company highlighted its use of non-GAAP measures such as net debt, income from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, and diluted earnings per share excluding charges and credits. Management believes these alternative measures offer valuable insights into operational trends and the company's indebtedness, allowing for a more effective period-over-period comparison by excluding items that might otherwise obscure underlying performance. Investors are encouraged to consider these non-GAAP figures alongside the standard GAAP metrics.

Key Highlights

  • 1SLB filed an 8-K on January 23, 2009, to disclose its Q4 and Full-Year 2008 financial results.
  • 2The filing includes a press release (Exhibit 99.1) and supplemental information (Exhibit 99.2) regarding these results.
  • 3SLB is providing both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures to investors.
  • 4Key non-GAAP measures discussed include net debt, income from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, and diluted earnings per share excluding charges and credits.
  • 5Net debt is defined as gross debt less cash and certain investments, aiming to reflect the company's actual indebtedness.
  • 6Management uses non-GAAP measures to better evaluate operational trends by excluding specific charges and credits.
  • 7Investors are advised to consider these non-GAAP measures in conjunction with, not as a substitute for, GAAP financial performance indicators.

Frequently Asked Questions

This 8-K filing primarily serves to report SLB's financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2008. It includes a press release and supplemental information containing these financial details.

SLB is providing several non-GAAP measures, including net debt, income from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, pretax return on sales from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, after tax return on sales from continuing operations excluding charges and credits, and effective tax rate excluding charges and credits.

SLB's management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information. Net debt offers insight into the company's indebtedness by considering available cash and investments. Other non-GAAP measures, which exclude specific charges and credits, are used to evaluate operations more effectively period over period and to identify underlying operating trends that might otherwise be masked.

The detailed financial results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 are available in the press release (Exhibit 99.1) and the supplemental information (Exhibit 99.2) furnished with this 8-K filing, which were also posted on SLB's investor relations website (www.slb.com/ir).