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(Reuters) -Cheniere Energy Inc on Thursday reported a slump in quarterly revenue as the top U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter was hammered by lower prices for the commodity.
U.S. natural gas prices averaged $2.417 per million British thermal units (Btu) during the April-June quarter, down nearly 63% from the year-ago quarter, when demand skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Houston, Texas-based energy firm’s quarterly revenue fell 49% to $4.1 billion.
The company said its loaded LNG volumes dropped to 547 trillion British thermal units (tbtu) for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with 570 tbtu in the year-earlier period.
Cheniere had reduced feedgas intake and LNG output at its Louisiana facility for more than three weeks due to maintenance in June, hurting its shipped volumes.
Cheniere raised its 2023 consolidated adjusted core earnings forecast by $100 million to between $8.3 billion and $8.8 billion. Analysts on average had expected $8.61 billion, according to Refinitiv.
The company also expects higher distributable cash flow in 2023.
The LNG exporter posted second-quarter net income of $1.37 billion compared to $741 million last year on gains in its derivative instruments used to hedge against international gas prices.
The company struck long-term LNG supply deals with China’s ENN Natural Gas, Norway’s Equinor and Korea Southern Power Co in the reported quarter for aggregate 76 million tonnes of LNG with expected deliveries between 2026 and 2049.
Cheniere has the capacity to produce about 45 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG at its two facilities: Corpus Christi in Texas and Sabine in Louisiana.
Reporting by Arshreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
