By Allison Prang

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) said it plans to report lower revenue than expected because of a drop in sequential shipments and "reduced progress on new offshore rig construction," among other factors.

The company said it expects first-quarter revenue of $1.8 billion, below its prior expectation.

The new guidance was a result of "reduced progress on new offshore rig construction and customer-delayed deliveries of drilling, well servicing, and stimulation equipment, causing revenue to slip into later periods," the company said in a news release.

Its top line was also hurt from "lower sequential shipments of subsea production equipment," it said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting revenue of $1.95 billion. The company reported total revenue in the first quarter of 2017 of $1.74 billion.

Chief Executive Clay Williams said all three business segments will report sequentially lower revenue, and the company expects to report an operating loss of about $1 million on a consolidated basis.

Mr. Williams said that "industry fundamentals continue to improve" and that the company is optimistic for the rest of 2018.

"With oil prices continuing to trend upward, and the U.S. rig count topping one thousand, we expect demand for NOV's critical products and services to resume growth as the year progresses," he said.

NOV is scheduled to report its latest financial results April 26 after the market closes.

Shares of the company have risen 25% in the past year and 10% year to date.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2018 07:30 ET (11:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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