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The owner of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG export terminals said on Thursday its revenue reached $5.44 billion in the first quarter.
This compares to $4.25 billion in the first quarter last year and $4.4 billion in the prior quarter.
Cheniere attributed the $1.2 billion revenue rise to a $725 million increase in revenues attributable to increased Henry Hub pricing, to which the majority of the company’s long-term LNG sales contracts are indexed.
Also, Cheniere attributed the rise to a $428 million increase in revenues generated by Cheniere’s “integrated marketing function under short-term agreements due to an increase in volumes sold at higher prices due to increased international LNG and natural gas prices.”
Lower net income
Net income was at $353 million, which is comparable to $502 million in the year before and $1 billion in the prior quarter.
“Although approximately 90 percent of our LNG volumes recognized in the comparable three month periods were sold in relation to long-term SPAs or IPM agreements, there was a decline in net income attributable to Cheniere in the current year as compared to the same period of 2024 primarily due to a $277 million unfavorable change in fair value of agreements accounted for as derivative instruments,” the firm said.
Also contributing to the decline in net income was a $70 million decrease in sublease income from Cheniere’s LNG vessels due to fewer days the LNG vessels were subleased and at lower rates in the current year as compared to the same period of 2024, it said.
Consolidated adjusted Ebitda of $187 billion increased approximately $99 million for the three-month period as compared to the corresponding 2024 period.
According to Cheneire, the increase was primarily due to higher total margins per MMBtu of LNG delivered during the 2025 period as compared to the corresponding 2024 period.
Cheniere reconfirmed its full-year 2025 consolidated adjusted Ebitda guidance of $6.5 billion – $7 billion and full-year 2025 distributable cash flow guidance of $4.1 billion – $4.6 billion.
168 LNG cargoes
Cheniere exported 168 LNG cargoes during the first quarter, up by two cargoes compared to the same period last year.
Most of these volumes landed in Europe, followed by Asia.
The company’s loaded LNG volumes reached 608 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) in the first quarter, up from 601 TBtu in the same quarter last year and 606 TBtu in the previous quarter.
Stage 3 progress
Cheniere made the final investment decision on the CCL Stage 3 expansion project, worth about $8 billion, in June 2022.
The project includes building seven midscale trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 mtpa, adding to the three operational trains, each with a capacity of about 5 mtpa.
As previously reported by LNG Prime, the Stage 3 expansion project at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG export plant in Texas is 82.5 percent complete.
Cheniere is also nearing the introduction of fuel gas to the second train of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project in Texas as part of the commissioning phase.
Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said, “2025 is off to an outstanding start thanks to the Cheniere team’s commitment to excellence across our operations, project execution, and financial discipline.”
The quarter was highlighted by the achievement of substantial completion on Train 1 of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project, and the production and shipment of Cheneire’s 4,000th LNG cargo.
“Progress on Stage 3 continues to advance on an accelerated schedule, reinforcing our confidence in having the first three trains operational by the end of 2025,” Fusco said.