Shares of oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) have been climbing somewhat in early trading after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings results.

For its quarterly profit, Halliburton posted a rise of nearly 5%. The press release claims "This increase was attributable to increased worldwide activity, particularly in the Eastern Hemisphere," where the company is placing greater resources. Halliburton said its profit climbed to $690 million, or 75 cents per share from $658 million, or 64 cents a share, during the same period a year ago. Included in the company's figures was $22 million after-tax charge related to the impairment in Bangladesh, and $8 million of after-tax expenses related to executive-separation costs.

Income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2007 was $674 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, beating analysts expectations of earnings of 69 cents per share.

The company's results also show a respectable 19% jump in revenue to $4.2 billion, up from $3.5 billion a year earlier. Analysts had forecast $4.1 billion in revenue, according to Reuters Estimates.