April 23 (Reuters) - Halliburton ( HAL ) beat

first-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday as higher drilling

demand from international markets helped the oilfield services

firm counter a slowdown in North America.

The Houston, Texas-based company posted an adjusted profit

of 76 cents per share for the three months ended March 31,

topping analysts' average estimate of 74 cents per share,

according to LSEG data.