US LNG exporting giant Cheniere reported a 53 percent drop in its quarterly revenue due to lower prices and volumes, while its net profit stood at $1.7 billion compared to a net loss last year.
The owner of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG export terminals said on Thursday its third-quarter revenue reached $4.16 billion. This compares to $8.85 billion in the same quarter last year.
Net income was at $1.7 billion and compares to a net loss of $2.39 billion last year.
Consolidated adjusted Ebitda decreased 40 percent to $1.66 billion.
Cheniere said the decreases were due primarily to decreased total margins per MMBtu of LNG delivered, driven by lower international gas prices in the current period, as well as a higher proportion of volumes sold under long-term contracts and lower total volumes sold into short-term markets.
The company’s loaded LNG volumes reached 545 trillion British thermal unit (TBtu) in the third quarter, down 2 percent compared to the previous year.
Cheniere exported 152 LNG cargoes during the third quarter, down from 156 cargoes last year and a rise from 149 LNG cargoes in the previous quarter.
Most of these volumes landed in Europe, followed by Asia.
The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.435 ($1.74 annualized) per common share, an increase of about 10 percent from the prior quarter.
Cheniere confirmed its 2023 consolidated adjusted Ebitda guidance of $8.3 – $8.8 billion and 2023 distributable cash flow guidance to $5.8 – $6.3 billion.
The company’s CEO Jack Fusco said the third quarter was marked by “key milestones achieved across the Cheniere platform, highlighted by the production of our 3,000th LNG cargo since start-up in 2016.”
“Persistent volatility in commodity markets continues to reinforce the value of our commercial offering and the stability and visibility of our cash flows, and we are confident in achieving full year 2023 results at the high end of our guidance ranges,” he said.
First LNG from Corpus Christi expansion in 2024
Fusco also said that construction on Corpus Christi Stage 3 “continues to progress ahead of plan, and I am optimistic first LNG production from Train 1 will occur by the end of 2024.”
According to Cheniere, the expansion project was 44.1 percent complete as of September 30.
Cheniere originally expected to start LNG deliveries from the expansion project in 2025 with full production in 2027.
However, Fusco said in August that the company is expecting to complete the expansion phase ahead of schedule.
Cheniere’s Corpus Christi liquefaction plant now consists of three operational trains with each having a capacity of about 5 mtpa.
In June last year, Cheniere took a final investment decision on the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project worth about $8 billion and Bechtel officially started construction on the project in October.
The project includes building seven midscale trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 mtpa.