National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), Houston, Texas, reported first-quarter sales of $1.9 billion, up 8% compared to the first quarter of 2018. The company reported a loss of $75 million for the quarter compared to a loss of $66 million in 2018

“Two big challenges negatively impacted our quarter—oilfield service customers cut expenditures due to low year-end oil prices and sliding producer activity outlook, and offshore sales declined following the accelerated equipment deliveries we saw in the fourth quarter,” commented Clay Williams, chairman, president and CEO. “Additionally, the volume of orders for new capital equipment fell sharply in late 2018 and remained sparse through the first two months of the year. Nevertheless, customer confidence improved month-by-month through the first quarter as commodity prices strengthened. Strong order acceleration in March enabled NOV to post a sequential increase in bookings, improving our outlook for the second quarter and remainder of 2019.”