National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), Houston, TX, reported sales for the first quarter of $4.8 billion, a decrease of 1.4 percent from the prior-year quarter. Profit decreased 47.4 percent to $310 million.

First-quarter sales for the rig systems segment were $2.5 billion, up 11.8 percent year-over-year. Sales for the rig aftermarket segment decreased 4.1 percent to $719 million.

"National Oilwell Varco executed well during the first quarter of 2015, despite the significant downturn in oil price and oilfield activity we faced," said Clay C. Williams, president & CEO. “Our strong financial resources, $11.9 billion backlog, and outstanding workforce position us well to weather the current challenging market, and we plan to emerge stronger and better. In the short run we will continue with cost reduction initiatives implemented through the past few months to drive better efficiency and mitigate the impact of declining revenues, which we expect to continue through at least the next few quarters.”