SLB announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend on Friday, after beating fourth-quarter earnings estimates on the strength of its activities in the Middle East.

The U.S.-based company, the world's leading oilfield services provider, said it would increase its dividend from $0.250 to $0.275, effective from the April dividend payment.

The Houston, Texas-based company posted fourth-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with $1.06 billion, or 74 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding non-recurring items, earnings per share came to 86 cents, compared with an average of 84 cents expected by analysts.

Sales rose by 14% to almost nine billion dollars, again slightly ahead of expectations.

The ex-Schlumberger company explained that its international revenues rose by 20%, with a record level of activity in the Middle East, thanks in particular to "impressive" growth in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.

On Wall Street, the stock was expected to rise by 1.4% on Friday morning following this publication.

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