Protesters arrested outside Halliburton meeting

DUNCAN, Okla. — Sixteen people protesting Halliburton Co.’s role as a military contractor were arrested Wednesday outside a building where shareholders discussed spinning off the subsidiary that provides meals, clean laundry and other services to U.S. troops in Iraq.

One man was accused of vandalism for tearing up a plastic fence holding back protesters, and the rest were accused of trespassing as they left an enclosure and headed toward the meeting.

Halliburton announced plans last month to sell just under 20 percent of KBR, which has diluted the company’s financial results and drawn criticism of its multibillion contracts in Iraq.

Dave Lesar, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, said Wednesday the company planned to follow the initial offering with either additional public offerings or a sale to a competitor of the remaining 80 percent.

As a standalone company, KBR would have a better opportunity to prosper, Chief Financial Officer Christopher Gaut told about 200 shareholders. He described KBR as Halliburton’s nearly lowest margin business and one that has seen contract activity in Iraq decrease.

A spin-off “would unlock the value of KBR for shareholders,” Gaut said.

Shareholders of the world’s largest provider of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries looked back on a year of record earnings. Halliburton, founded in 1919, earned $2.4 billion in 2005.

Shareholders approved a company request to increase its authorized share count to 2 billion from 1 billion. Lesar said a stock split was planned sometime in the next two months.