Golar LNG Limited Interim results for the period ended March 31, 2023
Highlights and subsequent events
- Golar LNG Limited (“Golar” or “the Company”) reports a Q1 2023 Adjusted EBITDA1 of
$84 million and a Net Loss attributable to Golar of$102 million , inclusive of non-cash mark-to-market charges1 of$188 million . - Total Golar Cash1 of
$1 billion , inclusive of$113 million of restricted cash. - Based on strong balance sheet position and a solid operational cash flow outlook, Golar reinstates quarterly dividend and will distribute
$0.25 per share for Q1 2023. - Approved share buyback program of up to
$150 million . - Exited Cool Company Ltd. (“CoolCo”) investment by selling remaining 4.5 million shares raising net proceeds of
$56 million . - Reacquired New Fortress Energy Inc. (“NFE”) interest in Golar Hilli LLC for 4.1 million NFE shares and
$100 million in cash and exited NFE investment by selling our remaining 1.2 million NFE shares for net proceeds of$46 million . - Credit approval to improve terms of existing Hilli debt facility, reducing debt service cost.
- High-graded FLNG conversion candidate by agreeing to sell 1977 built LNG carrier Gandria for net proceeds of
$15 million and exercising option to acquire 2004 built LNG carrier Fuji LNG targeted for conversion to a 3.5mtpa MKII FLNG. - Signed Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (“NNPC”) for joint development of potential FLNG opportunities.
- Repurchased
$20 million of 2025 maturing Unsecured Bonds and secured approval for amendments to bond terms that increase financial flexibility.
FLNG Hilli: FLNG Hilli maintained its strong operational performance with
In January 2023, Golar effectively unwound its 2023 and 2024 TTF hedges, locking in approximately
-
- April-December 2023:
100% of TTF linked production unwound securing approximately$68 million of Distributable Adjusted EBITDA1 equivalent to approximately$23 million for each of quarters 2, 3 and 4; and - Full year 2024:
50% of TTF linked production unwound securing approximately$49 million of Distributable Adjusted EBITDA1 equivalent to approximately$12 million per quarter in 2024.
- April-December 2023:
The FLNG Hilli sale and leaseback facility lenders have agreed to reduce the facility margin and extend the amortization profile and duration. Following the credit approved changes, FLNG Hilli’s annual debt service cost will reduce from a current 2023 level of around
FLNG Gimi: FLNG Gimi is now
FLNG business development: Golar signed a MOU with NNPC for joint development of FLNG opportunities in Nigeria. Following the signing of the MOU, both parties have allocated significant resources to initially develop a named gas field for a potential FLNG project. Material technical and commercial progress has been made. The MOU has a 5-year duration, with both parties’ ambition to explore potential for multiple FLNG projects to be deployed on proven stranded and associated gas fields in Nigeria.
NNPC is Africa’s largest oil producer and Nigeria’s most important energy stakeholder with a strategy to expand gas exports. Nigeria’s gas specifications and met-ocean conditions are ideally suited to Golar’s FLNG solutions.
Recent months have seen a significant increase in interest and momentum for re-contracting alternatives for FLNG Hilli. Several promising projects that have more attractive economics than the current contract are now being discussed. Golar continues to target commercial structures aligned with gas resource owners, focusing on attractive break-even production costs relative to competing global LNG export projects, with upside in commodity price linkage. With its leading operational track record and near-term availability, FLNG Hilli is uniquely positioned to monetize gas reserves. A fully utilized FLNG Hilli has annual revenue potential in excess of
As a result of increasing momentum for new FLNG opportunities, Golar high-graded its FLNG conversion candidate by selling the Gandria and exercising its option to acquire the 148,000cbm moss design carrier Fuji LNG targeted for the MKII FLNG conversion project. Sale of the Gandria for net proceeds of
FSRU: Fees earned in respect of the Development Agreement to assist Snam with FSRU Tundra’s drydocking, site commissioning and hook-up amounted to
Financial Summary
(in thousands of $) | Q1 2023 | Q1 2022 | % Change | Q4 2022 | % Change |
Net (loss)/income attributable to Golar LNG Ltd | (101,863) | 345,182 | (130)% | 71,438 | (243)% |
Total operating revenues | 73,968 | 72,938 | 59,140 | ||
Adjusted EBITDA1 | 84,148 | 89,657 | (6)% | 87,409 | (4)% |
Golar’s share of contractual debt 1 | 1,151,781 | 1,743,747 | (34)% | 843,428 |
Financial Review
Business Performance:
2023 | 2022 | ||
Jan-Mar | Oct-Dec | Jan-Mar | |
(in thousands of $) | Total | Total | Total |
Net (loss)/income | (92,569) | 67,070 | 410,014 |
Income taxes | 252 | (720) | 360 |
Net (loss)/income before income taxes | (92,317) | 66,350 | 410,374 |
Depreciation and amortization | 12,577 | 12,432 | 13,725 |
Unrealized loss/(gain) on oil and gas derivative instruments | 115,011 | 72,995 | (168,059) |
Realized and unrealized losses/(gains) on our investment in listed equity securities | 62,308 | (54,469) | (344,049) |
Other non-operating income, net | (11,128) | (649) | (6,136) |
Interest income | (11,482) | (8,212) | (33) |
Interest expense | 362 | 3,697 | 6,156 |
Losses/(gains) on derivative instruments | 9,376 | 1,833 | (31,536) |
Other financial items, net | 911 | 2,137 | (614) |
Net (income)/losses from equity method investments | (1,281) | (6,045) | 1,056 |
Net (income)/loss from discontinued operations | (189) | (2,660) | 208,773 |
Adjusted EBITDA(1) | 84,148 | 87,409 | 89,657 |
2023 | 2022 | |||||||
Jan-Mar | Oct-Dec | |||||||
(in thousands of $) | FLNG | Corporate and other | Shipping | Total | FLNG | Corporate and other | Shipping | Total |
Total operating revenues | 56,221 | 12,347 | 5,400 | 73,968 | 36,511 | 17,160 | 5,469 | 59,140 |
Vessel operating expenses | (15,643) | (2,664) | (266) | (18,573) | (15,202) | (1,718) | (1,965) | (18,885) |
Voyage, charterhire & commission expenses | (150) | (19) | (67) | (236) | (150) | (9) | (111) | (270) |
Administrative (expenses)/income | (50) | (10,017) | (1) | (10,068) | 44 | (7,579) | 37 | (7,498) |
Project development expenses | (272) | (18,123) | — | (18,395) | (2,419) | (4,222) | (45) | (6,686) |
Realized gain on oil and gas derivative instruments(2) | 57,452 | — | — | 57,452 | 77,324 | — | — | 77,324 |
Other operating losses(3) | — | — | — | — | (15,716) | — | — | (15,716) |
Adjusted EBITDA(1) | 97,558 | (18,476) | 5,066 | 84,148 | 80,392 | 3,632 | 3,385 | 87,409 |
(2) The line item “Realized and unrealized (loss)/gain on oil and gas derivative instruments” in the Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations relates to income from the Hilli Liquefaction Tolling Agreement (“LTA”) and the natural gas derivative which is split into: “Realized gain on oil and gas derivative instruments” and “Unrealized (loss)/gain on oil and gas derivative instruments”.
(3) The line item “Other operating (losses)/income” in the Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations includes FLNG Hilli’s underutilization of
2022 | ||||
Jan-Mar | ||||
(in thousands of $) | FLNG | Corporate and other | Shipping | Total |
Total operating revenues | 62,894 | 6,809 | 3,235 | 72,938 |
Vessel operating expenses | (14,181) | (1,789) | (2,134) | (18,104) |
Voyage, charterhire & commission (expenses)/income | (150) | (25) | (540) | (715) |
Administrative expenses | (42) | (10,138) | (2) | (10,182) |
Project development (expenses)/income | (1,540) | 689 | — | (851) |
Realized gain on oil and gas derivative instruments | 42,631 | — | — | 42,631 |
Other operating income | 3,940 | — | — | 3,940 |
Adjusted EBITDA(1) | 93,552 | (4,454) | 559 | 89,657 |
Golar reports today a Q1 2023 net loss attributable to Golar of
- TTF and Brent oil of
$115 million ; - Listed equity securities of
$62 million ; and - Interest rate swaps of
$11 million .
The Brent oil linked component of FLNG Hilli’s fees generates additional annual cash of approximately
The mark-to-market fair value of the FLNG Hilli Brent oil linked derivative asset decreased by
During Q1 2023 Golar sold 1.2 million of its 5.3 million NFE shares and repurchased NFE’s interest in FLNG Hilli using its remaining 4.1 million NFE shares as part of the purchase price consideration. A decrease in the NFE share price between January 1, 2023 and March 15, 2023, when Golar’s re-acquisition of NFE’s interest in FLNG Hilli closed, resulted in the recognition of a Q1 2023 realized mark to market loss of
Balance Sheet and Liquidity:
As of March 31, 2023, Total Golar Cash1 was
Within the
During Q1 2023, Golar repurchased
Inclusive of
Expenditure on long-lead items and engineering services for the MKII FLNG amounted to
Corporate and Other Matters:
As at March 31, 2023, Golar had 107.4 million shares issued and outstanding. There were also 1.4 million outstanding stock options with an average price of
The Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to
Golar’s Board of Directors has also approved a total dividend of
Non-GAAP measures
In addition to disclosing financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP), this earnings release and the associated investor presentation contains references to the non-GAAP financial measures which are included in the table below. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of our business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating our business and measuring our performance.
This report also contains certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures for which we are unable to provide a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which our outside of our control, such as oil and gas prices and exchange rates, as such items may be significant. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future events which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied to Golar’s unaudited consolidated financial statements.
These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP measures are not uniformly defined by all companies, and may not be comparable with similarly titled measures and disclosures used by other companies. The reconciliations as at March 31, 2023, from these results should be carefully evaluated.
Non-GAAP measure | Closest equivalent US GAAP measure | Adjustments to reconcile to primary financial statements prepared under US GAAP | Rationale for adjustments |
Performance measures | |||
Adjusted EBITDA | Net income/(loss) | +/- Income taxes + Depreciation and amortization +/- Unrealized (gain)/loss on oil and gas derivative instruments +/- Other non-operating (income)/losses +/- Net financial (income)/expense +/- Net (income)/losses from equity method investments +/- Net loss/(income) from discontinued operations | Increases the comparability of total business performance from period to period and against the performance of other companies by excluding the results of our equity investments, removing the impact of unrealized movements on embedded derivatives, depreciation, financing costs, tax items and discontinued operations. |
Distributable Adjusted EBITDA | Net income/(loss) | +/- Income taxes + Depreciation and amortization +/- Unrealized (gain)/loss on oil and gas derivative instruments +/- Other non-operating (income)/losses +/- Net financial (income)/expense +/- Net (income)/losses from equity method investments +/- Net loss/(income) from discontinued operations - Amortization of deferred commissioning period revenue - Amortization of Day 1 gains - Accrued overproduction revenue + Overproduction revenue received - Accrued underutilization adjustment | Increases the comparability of our operational FLNG, Hilli from period to period and against the performance of other companies by removing the non-distributable income of Hilli, project development costs and the operating costs of the Gandria and Gimi. |
Liquidity measures | |||
Contractual debt (1) | Total debt (current and non-current), net of deferred finance charges | '+/- Debt within liabilities held for sale net of deferred finance charges +/-VIE consolidation adjustments +/-Deferred finance charges +/-Deferred finance charges within liabilities held for sale | During the year, we consolidate a lessor VIE for our Hilli sale and leaseback facility. This means that on consolidation, our contractual debt is eliminated and replaced with the lessor VIE debt. Contractual debt represents our debt obligations under our various financing arrangements before consolidating the lessor VIE. The measure enables investors and users of our financial statements to assess our liquidity and the split of our debt (current and non-current) based on our underlying contractual obligations. Furthermore, it aids comparability with our competitors. |
Total Golar debt | Total debt (current and non-current), net of deferred finance charges | '+/- Debt within liabilities held for sale net of deferred finance charges +/-VIE consolidation adjustments +/-Deferred finance charges +/-Deferred finance charges within liabilities held for sale +/-Incremental debt arising from acquisition of NFE’s interest in Hilli | The measure enables investors and users of our financial statements to assess our liquidity and the split of our debt (current and non-current) based on our underlying contractual obligations. Furthermore, it aids comparability with our competitors. |
Total Golar Cash | Golar cash based on GAAP measures: + Cash and cash equivalents + Restricted cash and short-term deposits (current and non-current) | -VIE restricted cash and short-term deposits | We consolidate a lessor VIE for our sale and leaseback facility. This means that on consolidation, we include restricted cash held by the lessor VIE. Total Golar Cash represents our cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and short-term deposits (current and non-current) before consolidating the lessor VIE. Management believe that this measure enables investors and users of our financial statements to assess our liquidity and aids comparability with our competitors. |
(1) Please refer to reconciliation below for Golar’s share of Contractual Debt
Adjusted EBITDA backlog: This is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure and represents the share of contracted fee income for executed contracts less forecast operating expenses for these contracts. Adjusted EBITDA backlog should not be considered as an alternative to net income or any other measure of our financial performance calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Non-cash mark-to-market charges: These comprise of mark-to-market (“MTM”) movements on our TTF and Brent oil linked derivatives, listed equity securities and interest rate swaps (“IRS”) which relate to the unrealized component of the (losses)/gains on oil and gas derivative instruments, unrealized MTM (losses)/gains on investment in listed equity securities and net (losses)/gains on derivative instruments, in our unaudited consolidated statement of operations.
Abbreviations used:
FLNG: Floating Liquefaction Natural Gas
FSRU: Floating Storage Regasification Unit
MMBtu: Million British Thermal Units
MKI FLNG: Mark I FLNG
MKII FLNG: Mark II FLNG
mtpa: Million Tons Per Annum
Reconciliations - Liquidity Measures
Contractual Debt
(in thousands of $) | March 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | March 31, 2022 |
Total debt (current and non-current) net of deferred finance charges | 1,163,017 | 1,189,324 | 1,488,336 |
Total debt within liabilities held for sale net of deferred finance charges | — | — | 472,558 |
VIE consolidation adjustments | 167,184 | 152,134 | 285,107 |
Deferred finance charges | 19,415 | 20,954 | 26,942 |
Deferred finance charges within liabilities held for sale | — | — | 2,236 |
Total Contractual Debt | 1,349,616 | 1,362,412 | 2,275,179 |
Less: Golar Partners’ (1), Keppel’s and B&V’s share of the FLNG Hilli contractual debt | (34,335) | (358,484) | (385,932) |
Less: Keppel’s share of the Gimi debt | (163,500) | (160,500) | (145,500) |
Golar’s share of Contractual Debt | 1,151,781 | 843,428 | 1,743,747 |
Please see Appendix A for a capital repayment profile for Golar’s contractual debt.
(1) On March 15, 2023, we completed the reacquisition of NFE’s Hilli Common Units of Hilli LLC. As a result GLNG’s share of FLNG Hilli’s contractual debt increased from
Total Golar Cash
(in thousands of $) | March 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | March 31, 2022 |
Cash and cash equivalents | 889,410 | 878,838 | 207,035 |
Restricted cash and short-term deposits (current and non-current) | 131,319 | 134,043 | 135,870 |
Less: VIE restricted cash and short-term deposits | (18,609) | (21,691) | (16,313) |
Total Golar Cash | 1,002,120 | 991,190 | 326,592 |
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) which reflects management’s current expectations, estimates and projections about its operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities and events that will, should, could or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Words such as “if,” “subject to,” “believe,” “assuming,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “could,” “would,” “predict,” “propose,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, Golar undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include but are not limited to:
- our ability and that of our counterparty to meet our respective obligations under the 20-year lease and operate agreement (the “LOA”) entered into in connection with the Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim Project (the “GTA Project”), including the timing of various project infrastructure deliveries to sites such as the floating production, storage and offloading unit and FLNG Gimi. Delays to contracted deliveries to sites could result in incremental costs to both parties to the LOA, delay commissioning works and the unlocking of FLNG Gimi adjusted EBITDA backlog1;
- that an attractive deployment opportunity, or any of the opportunities under discussion for the Mark II FLNG (“MKII”), one of our floating liquefaction natural gas vessel (“FLNG”) designs, will be converted into a suitable contract. Failure to do this in a timely manner or at all could expose us to losses on our investments in long-lead items and engineering services to date. Assuming a satisfactory contract is secured, changes in project capital expenditures, foreign exchange and commodity price volatility could have a material impact on the expected magnitude and timing of our return on investment;
- our ability to close the sale of the liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) carrier Gandria on a timely basis or complete the acquisition of LNG carrier Fuji LNG on a timely basis or at all;
- continuing uncertainty resulting from potential future claims from our counterparties of purported force majeure under contractual arrangements, including but not limited to our construction projects (including the GTA Project) and other contracts to which we are a party;
- failure of shipyards to comply with delivery schedules or performance specifications on a timely basis or at all;
- failure of our contract counterparties to comply with their agreements with us or other key project stakeholders;
- our inability to expand our FLNG portfolio through our innovative FLNG growth strategy;
- our ability to meet our obligations under the liquefaction tolling agreement (the “LTA”) entered into in connection with the Hilli Episeyo (“FLNG Hilli”);
- our expectation that we make up the 2022 production shortfall pursuant to the LTA in 2023. Failure to achieve this will require settlement of the 2022 production shortfall liability as a reduction to our final billing in 2026;
- our ability to recontract the FLNG Hilli once her current contract ends, and other competitive factors in the FLNG industry;
- our ability to close potential future transactions in relation to equity interests in our vessels, including the Golar Arctic, FLNG Hilli and Gimi or to monetize our remaining equity holdings in Avenir LNG Limited (“Avenir”) on a timely basis or at all;
- increases in costs as a result of recent inflation, including but not limited to salaries and wages, insurance, crew provisions, repairs and maintenance;
- continuing volatility in the global financial markets, including but not limited to commodity prices and interest rates;
- changes in our relationship with our equity method investments and the sustainability of any distributions they pay us;
- claims made or losses incurred in connection with our continuing obligations with regard to New Fortress Energy Inc (“NFE”), Floating Infrastructure Holdings Finance LLC (“Energos”), Cool Company Ltd (“CoolCo”) and Italy’s SNAM group (“Snam”);
- the ability of NFE, Energos, CoolCo and Snam to meet their respective obligations to us, including indemnification obligations;
- changes in our ability to retrofit vessels as FLNGs or floating storage and regasification units (“FSRUs”) and our ability to secure financing for such conversions on acceptable terms or at all;
- changes to rules and regulations applicable to LNG carriers, FLNGs or other parts of the LNG supply chain;
- changes in the supply of or demand for LNG or LNG carried by sea and for LNG carriers or FLNGs;
- a material decline or prolonged weakness in charter rates for LNG carriers or tolling rates for FLNGs;
- global economic trends, competition and geopolitical risks, including impacts from the length and severity of future pandemic outbreak, rising inflation and the ongoing Ukraine and Russia conflict and the related sanctions and other measures, including the related impacts on the supply chain for our conversions or commissioning works, the operations of our charterers and customers, our global operations and our business in general;
- changes in general domestic and international political conditions, particularly where we operate, or where we seek to operate;
- changes in the availability of vessels to purchase and in the time it takes to build new vessels and our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms or at all;
- actions taken by regulatory authorities that may prohibit the access of LNG carriers and FLNGs to various ports; and
- other factors listed from time to time in registration statements, reports or other materials that we have filed with or furnished to the Commission, including our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Commission on March 31, 2023 (the “2022 Annual Report”).
As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.
Responsibility Statement
We confirm that, to the best of our knowledge, the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (US GAAP) give a true and fair view of the Company’s unaudited consolidated assets, liabilities, financial position and results of operations. To the best of our knowledge, the interim report for the three months ended March 31, 2023, includes a fair review of important events that have occurred during the period and their impact on the interim unaudited consolidated financial statements, the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining period of 2023 and major related party transactions.
May 30, 2023
The Board of Directors
Golar LNG Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda
Investor Questions: +44 207 063 7900
Karl Fredrik Staubo - CEO
Eduardo Maranhão - CFO
Stuart Buchanan - Head of Investor Relations
Tor Olav Trøim (Chairman of the Board)
Dan Rabun (Director)
Thorleif Egeli (Director)
Carl Steen (Director)
Niels Stolt-Nielsen (Director)
Lori Wheeler Naess (Director)
Georgina Sousa (Director)
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
Attachment