C&J reported net income of $25.1 million, or 46 cents per share, for the three months to March. That was down from $49.4 million, or 92 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2012.
The 2013 quarterly result came on total revenue of $276.1 million, up 15% compared from a year earlier.
Analysts at Cowen Securities had expected income equivalent to 57 cents per share, compared to consensus expectations of 55 cents. Cowen also expected consolidated revenues of $288 million.
The miss was primarily due to lower hydraulic fracturing equipment utilisation with respect to both contracted and spot market work, particularly in the latter half of the first quarter, C&J said. That was due to "excess hydraulic fracturing capacity in the market".
However, the company got a boost from a year earlier from the addition of its wireline business in June 2012, as well as investments to add fracking and coiled tubing equipment.
"During the first quarter, we encountered challenging conditions across the US hydraulic fracturing market," said chief executive Josh Comstock. "The impact to our hydraulic fracturing operations was greatest over the latter part of the quarter, as our exposure to a weakened spot market increased due to lower utilisation by contracted customers, who generally managed to the minimum contractual hours."
"The hydraulic fracturing market remains highly competitive with spot market pricing not expected to increase during the second quarter."
He added: "We believe that the industry's long term shift towards more advanced completion methods and greater rig efficiency levels are well aligned with our core strengths."
In total, hydraulic fracturing added $173.8 million of revenue for C&J, compared to $186.4 million of revenue a year ago.
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