Cheniere Reports First Quarter 2022 Results and Raises 2022 Financial Guidance
Cheniere Energy reported Q1 2022 financial results with Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $3.2 billion and Distributable Cash Flow of about $2.5 billion. Despite a net loss of $865 million, the company raised its full-year EBITDA guidance to $8.2 - $8.7 billion due to increased LNG production. Notable developments included long-term agreements with EOG Resources and Engie, enhancing LNG supply volumes. Cheniere also gained regulatory approvals for LNG exports, reinforcing its operational capabilities in the growing LNG market.
- Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased by 117% YoY to approximately $3.2 billion.
- Raised full-year 2022 EBITDA guidance from $7.0 - $7.5 billion to $8.2 - $8.7 billion.
- Entered into long-term IPM agreement with EOG Resources, tripling LNG supply to 2.55 mtpa.
- Achieved substantial completion of Train 6 at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal.
- Secured regulatory approvals for increased LNG export volume.
- Net loss of $865 million in Q1 2022 compared to a net income of $393 million in Q1 2021.
- Incurred derivative losses of approximately $3.5 billion due to unfavorable changes in LNG commodity prices.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
-
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA1 of approximately
and Distributable Cash Flow1 of approximately$3.2 billion for the quarter. Net loss2 of approximately$2.5 billion for the quarter.$865 million
-
Raising full year 2022 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA1 guidance to
-$8.2 and full year 2022 Distributable Cash Flow1 guidance to$8.7 billion -$5.5 due to increased volumes from maintenance optimization, the accelerated ramp-up of Train 6 of the$6.0 billion SPL Project (defined below), and general outperformance, as well as sustained higher margins on LNG throughout 2022, and increased lifting margin.
-
In line with our comprehensive capital allocation plan, during the three months ended
March 31, 2022 , we redeemed or repaid over of consolidated long-term indebtedness, repurchased an aggregate of 0.24 million shares of our common stock for approximately$0.8 billion , and paid a quarterly dividend of$25 million per share of common stock on$0.33 February 28, 2022 .
-
In
February 2022 ,Cheniere Corpus Christi Liquefaction Stage III, LLC (“CCL Stage III”) amended its long-term Integrated Production Marketing (“IPM”) natural gas supply agreement signed in 2019 with EOG Resources, Inc. (“EOG”), extending the term to 2040 and tripling the volume of LNG associated with the natural gas supply to 2.55 million tonnes per annum (“mtpa”).
-
In
March 2022 , CCL Stage III entered into a lump sum, turnkey, engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) contract with Bechtel for the Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project (defined below) and released Bechtel to commence early engineering, procurement and other site work under a limited notice to proceed (“LNTP”).
-
In
March 2022 ,Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC (“CCL”) amended its existing long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (“SPA”) with Engie SA (“Engie”), increasing the volume Engie has agreed to purchase from CCL to approximately 0.9 mtpa of LNG on a free-on-board basis, and extending the term to approximately 20 years, which began inSeptember 2021 .
-
In
March 2022 , theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and theU.S. Department of Transportation’sPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) jointly providedSabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC (“SPL”) with conditional approval to recommission, cooldown and place LNG Tank 1 in-service.
-
In
March 2022 , theU.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued two long-term orders to SPL and collectively toCheniere Marketing, LLC and CCL, authorizing additional LNG exports to any country with whichthe United States has not entered into a free trade agreement. The total approved export volume increased to 1,661.94 billion cubic feet per year at theSPL Project (defined below) and 875.16 billion cubic feet per year at theCCL Project (defined below). These authorizations follow orders issued by theFERC inOctober 2021 , which authorized increased production capacity at both our Sabine Pass andCorpus Christi sites.
-
In
April 2022 , we announced a collaboration with natural gas midstream companies, methane detection technology providers and leading academic institutions to implement quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification (“QMRV”) of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions at natural gas gathering, processing, transmission, and storage systems specific to Cheniere’s LNG supply chain. This collaboration builds upon our ongoing QMRV collaboration with natural gas producers and LNG shipping providers, both of which commenced in 2021.
CEO COMMENT
“The criticality of energy security and the long-term role of LNG and natural gas as a reliable, flexible and cleaner-burning fuel has never been more evident and we are proud to be able to support our customers and end-users across the globe,” said
“Today we are raising our 2022 financial guidance due to the sustained strength in the global LNG market and an increase in expected LNG production. The current volatility in the global energy markets signals the need for additional investment in new LNG capacity, underscoring the power of the Cheniere platform. We expect to complete the remaining steps necessary to reach FID on Corpus Christi Stage 3 in the coming months.”
2022 REVISED FULL YEAR FINANCIAL GUIDANCE
(in billions) |
2022 Previous |
|
2022 Revised |
||||||||
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA1 |
$ |
7.0 |
- |
$ |
7.5 |
|
$ |
8.2 |
- |
$ |
8.7 |
Distributable Cash Flow1 |
$ |
4.3 |
- |
$ |
4.8 |
|
$ |
5.5 |
- |
$ |
6.0 |
SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF FINANCIAL RESULTS
(in millions, except LNG data) |
Three Months Ended |
||||||||
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
% Change |
||||
Revenues |
$ |
7,484 |
|
|
$ |
3,090 |
|
142 |
% |
Net income (loss)2 |
$ |
(865 |
) |
|
$ |
393 |
|
nm |
|
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA1 |
$ |
3,153 |
|
|
$ |
1,452 |
|
117 |
% |
LNG exported: |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Number of cargoes |
|
160 |
|
|
|
133 |
|
20 |
% |
Volumes (TBtu) |
|
584 |
|
|
|
480 |
|
22 |
% |
LNG volumes loaded (TBtu) |
|
585 |
|
|
|
476 |
|
23 |
% |
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased
Net loss was
Substantially all derivative losses relate to the use of commodity derivative instruments indexed to international LNG prices, primarily related to our long-term IPM agreements. While operationally we seek to eliminate commodity risk by utilizing derivatives to mitigate price volatility for commodities procured or sold over a period of time, as a result of the significant appreciation in forward international LNG commodity curves during the quarter, we incurred approximately
Share-based compensation expenses included in net income (loss) totaled
Our financial results are reported on a consolidated basis. Our ownership interest in
BALANCE SHEET MANAGEMENT
Capital Resources
As of
Key Financial Transactions and Updates
In
During the quarter, we repaid approximately
Liquefaction Projects Overview
Through
We operate three natural gas liquefaction Trains for a total production capacity of approximately 15 mtpa of LNG at the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near
Corpus Christi Stage 3
We are developing an expansion adjacent to the
INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
We will host a conference call to discuss our financial and operating results for the first quarter 2022 on
______________________________
1 Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for further details.
2 Net income (loss) as used herein refers to Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
About Cheniere
For additional information, please refer to the Cheniere website at www.cheniere.com and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to disclosing financial results in accordance with
Non-GAAP measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or in lieu of an analysis of our results as reported under GAAP and should be evaluated only on a supplementary basis.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that may include “forward-looking statements” within the meanings of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical or present facts or conditions, included herein are “forward-looking statements.” Included among “forward-looking statements” are, among other things, (i) statements regarding Cheniere’s financial and operational guidance, business strategy, plans and objectives, including the development, construction and operation of liquefaction facilities, (ii) statements regarding regulatory authorization and approval expectations, (iii) statements expressing beliefs and expectations regarding the development of Cheniere’s LNG terminal and pipeline businesses, including liquefaction facilities, (iv) statements regarding the business operations and prospects of third-parties, (v) statements regarding potential financing arrangements, (vi) statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts, (vii) statements relating to Cheniere’s capital deployment, including intent, ability, extent, and timing of capital expenditures, debt repayment, dividends, and share repurchases, and (viii) statements regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business and operating results. Although Cheniere believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Cheniere’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in Cheniere’s periodic reports that are filed with and available from the
(Financial Tables and Supplementary Information Follow)
LNG VOLUME SUMMARY
As of
During the quarter, we exported 584 TBtu of LNG from our liquefaction projects. 40 TBtu of LNG exported from our liquefaction projects and sold on a delivered basis was in transit as of
The following table summarizes the volumes of operational and commissioning LNG that were loaded from our liquefaction projects and for which the financial impact was recognized on our Consolidated Financial Statements during the quarter:
|
Three Months Ended |
|||
(in TBtu) |
Operational |
|
Commissioning |
|
Volumes loaded during the current period |
572 |
|
|
13 |
Volumes loaded during the prior period but recognized during the current period |
49 |
|
|
1 |
Less: volumes loaded during the current period and in transit at the end of the period |
(40 |
) |
|
— |
Total volumes recognized in the current period |
581 |
|
|
14 |
In addition, during the quarter, we recognized 11 TBtu of LNG on our Consolidated Financial Statements related to LNG cargoes sourced from third-parties.
Consolidated Statements of Operations (in millions, except per share data)(1) (unaudited) |
|||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
||||
Revenues |
|
|
|
||||
LNG revenues |
$ |
7,340 |
|
|
$ |
2,999 |
|
Regasification revenues |
|
68 |
|
|
|
67 |
|
Other revenues |
|
76 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
Total revenues |
|
7,484 |
|
|
|
3,090 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Operating costs and expenses |
|
|
|
||||
Cost of sales (excluding items shown separately below) (2) |
|
7,336 |
|
|
|
1,386 |
|
Operating and maintenance expense |
|
389 |
|
|
|
322 |
|
Development expense |
|
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Selling, general and administrative expense |
|
96 |
|
|
|
81 |
|
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
271 |
|
|
|
236 |
|
Total operating costs and expenses |
|
8,097 |
|
|
|
2,026 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Income (loss) from operations |
|
(613 |
) |
|
|
1,064 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Other expense (income) |
|
|
|
||||
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest |
|
(349 |
) |
|
|
(356 |
) |
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt |
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
(55 |
) |
Interest rate derivative gain, net |
|
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Other income, net |
|
5 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Total other expense |
|
(359 |
) |
|
|
(404 |
) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Income (loss) before income taxes and non-controlling interest |
|
(972 |
) |
|
|
660 |
|
Less: income tax provision (benefit) |
|
(191 |
) |
|
|
89 |
|
Net income (loss) |
|
(781 |
) |
|
|
571 |
|
Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest |
|
84 |
|
|
|
178 |
|
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders |
$ |
(865 |
) |
|
$ |
393 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders—basic (3) |
$ |
(3.41 |
) |
|
$ |
1.56 |
|
Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders—diluted (3) |
$ |
(3.41 |
) |
|
$ |
1.54 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—basic |
|
254.0 |
|
|
|
252.9 |
|
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—diluted |
|
254.0 |
|
|
|
258.9 |
|
______________________________ | ||
(1) |
Please refer to the |
|
(2) |
Cost of Sales includes approximately |
|
(3) |
Earnings per share in the table may not recalculate exactly due to rounding because it is calculated based on whole numbers, not the rounded numbers presented. |
Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions, except share data)(1)(2) |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
||||
ASSETS |
(unaudited) |
|
|
||||
Current assets |
|
|
|
||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
2,487 |
|
|
$ |
1,404 |
|
Restricted cash and cash equivalents |
|
419 |
|
|
|
413 |
|
Trade and other receivables, net of current expected credit losses |
|
1,461 |
|
|
|
1,506 |
|
Inventory |
|
571 |
|
|
|
706 |
|
Current derivative assets |
|
215 |
|
|
|
55 |
|
Margin deposits |
|
456 |
|
|
|
765 |
|
Other current assets |
|
96 |
|
|
|
207 |
|
Total current assets |
|
5,705 |
|
|
|
5,056 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation |
|
30,314 |
|
|
|
30,288 |
|
Operating lease assets |
|
1,975 |
|
|
|
2,102 |
|
Derivative assets |
|
43 |
|
|
|
69 |
|
|
|
77 |
|
|
|
77 |
|
Deferred tax assets |
|
1,450 |
|
|
|
1,204 |
|
Other non-current assets, net |
|
491 |
|
|
|
462 |
|
Total assets |
$ |
40,055 |
|
|
$ |
39,258 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT |
|
|
|
||||
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
||||
Accounts payable |
$ |
167 |
|
|
$ |
155 |
|
Accrued liabilities |
|
1,963 |
|
|
|
2,299 |
|
Current debt, net of discount and debt issuance costs |
|
62 |
|
|
|
366 |
|
Deferred revenue |
|
120 |
|
|
|
155 |
|
Current operating lease liabilities |
|
527 |
|
|
|
535 |
|
Current derivative liabilities |
|
1,746 |
|
|
|
1,089 |
|
Other current liabilities |
|
20 |
|
|
|
94 |
|
Total current liabilities |
|
4,605 |
|
|
|
4,693 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Long-term debt, net of premium, discount and debt issuance costs |
|
28,907 |
|
|
|
29,449 |
|
Operating lease liabilities |
|
1,423 |
|
|
|
1,541 |
|
Finance lease liabilities |
|
57 |
|
|
|
57 |
|
Derivative liabilities |
|
6,256 |
|
|
|
3,501 |
|
Other non-current liabilities |
|
66 |
|
|
|
50 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Stockholders' deficit |
|
|
|
||||
Preferred stock: |
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Common stock: |
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(988 |
) |
|
|
(928 |
) |
Additional paid-in-capital |
|
4,244 |
|
|
|
4,377 |
|
Accumulated deficit |
|
(6,967 |
) |
|
|
(6,021 |
) |
Total stockholders' deficit |
|
(3,710 |
) |
|
|
(2,571 |
) |
Non-controlling interest |
|
2,451 |
|
|
|
2,538 |
|
Total deficit |
|
(1,259 |
) |
|
|
(33 |
) |
Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit |
$ |
40,055 |
|
|
$ |
39,258 |
|
______________________________ | ||
(1) |
Please refer to the |
|
(2) |
Amounts presented include balances held by our consolidated variable interest entity, |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures Regulation G Reconciliations |
|||||||
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA |
|||||||
The following table reconciles our Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to |
|||||||
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
||||
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders |
$ |
(865 |
) |
|
$ |
393 |
|
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest |
|
84 |
|
|
|
178 |
|
Income tax provision (benefit) |
|
(191 |
) |
|
|
89 |
|
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest |
|
349 |
|
|
|
356 |
|
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt |
|
18 |
|
|
|
55 |
|
Interest rate derivative gain, net |
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
Other income, net |
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
(6 |
) |
Income (loss) from operations |
$ |
(613 |
) |
|
$ |
1,064 |
|
Adjustments to reconcile income from operations to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA: |
|
|
|
||||
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
271 |
|
|
|
236 |
|
Loss from changes in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives, net (1) |
|
3,458 |
|
|
|
120 |
|
Total non-cash compensation expense |
|
37 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
3,153 |
|
|
$ |
1,452 |
|
______________________________ | ||
(1) |
Change in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives prior to contractual delivery or termination |
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is commonly used as a supplemental financial measure by our management and external users of our Consolidated Financial Statements to assess the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structures, or historical cost basis. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to represent cash flows from operations or net income (loss) as defined by
We believe Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA provides relevant and useful information to management, investors and other users of our financial information in evaluating the effectiveness of our operating performance in a manner that is consistent with management’s evaluation of financial and operating performance.
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by taking net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders before net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest, interest expense, net of capitalized interest, changes in the fair value and settlement of our interest rate derivatives, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and adjusting for the effects of certain non-cash items, other non-operating income or expense items, and other items not otherwise predictive or indicative of ongoing operating performance, including the effects of modification or extinguishment of debt, impairment expense and loss on disposal of assets, changes in the fair value of our commodity and FX derivatives prior to contractual delivery or termination, and non-cash compensation expense. The change in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives is considered in determining Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA given that the timing of recognizing gains and losses on these derivative contracts differs from the recognition of the related item economically hedged. We believe the exclusion of these items enables investors and other users of our financial information to assess our sequential and year-over-year performance and operating trends on a more comparable basis and is consistent with management’s own evaluation of performance.
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow
The following table reconciles our actual Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow to Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders for the three months ended
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
Full Year |
||||||||
|
|
2022 |
|
2022 |
||||||||
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders |
|
$ |
(0.87 |
) |
|
$ |
0.6 |
|
- |
$ |
1.1 |
|
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest |
|
|
0.08 |
|
|
|
1.0 |
|
- |
|
1.1 |
|
Income tax provision (benefit) |
|
|
(0.19 |
) |
|
|
0.8 |
|
- |
|
0.9 |
|
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest |
|
|
0.35 |
|
|
|
|
|
1.5 |
|
||
Depreciation and amortization expense |
|
|
0.27 |
|
|
|
|
|
1.1 |
|
||
Other expense (income), financing costs, and certain non-cash operating expenses |
|
|
3.51 |
|
|
|
3.2 |
|
- |
|
3.0 |
|
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA |
|
$ |
3.15 |
|
|
$ |
8.2 |
|
- |
$ |
8.7 |
|
Interest expense (net of capitalized interest and amortization) and realized interest rate derivatives |
|
|
(0.36 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(1.4 |
) |
||
Maintenance capital expenditures, income tax and other expense |
|
|
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
(0.3 |
) |
- |
|
(0.2 |
) |
Consolidated Distributable Cash Flow |
|
$ |
2.77 |
|
|
$ |
6.5 |
|
- |
$ |
7.1 |
|
CQP distributable cash flow attributable to non-controlling interest |
|
|
(0.28 |
) |
|
|
(1.0 |
) |
- |
|
(1.1 |
) |
Cheniere Distributable Cash Flow |
|
$ |
2.50 |
|
|
$ |
5.5 |
|
- |
$ |
6.0 |
|
Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. |
Distributable Cash Flow is defined as cash generated from the operations of Cheniere and its subsidiaries and adjusted for non-controlling interest. The Distributable Cash Flow of Cheniere’s subsidiaries is calculated by taking the subsidiaries’ EBITDA less interest expense, net of capitalized interest, interest rate derivatives, taxes, maintenance capital expenditures and other non-operating income or expense items, and adjusting for the effect of certain non-cash items and other items not otherwise predictive or indicative of ongoing operating performance, including the effects of modification or extinguishment of debt, amortization of debt issue costs, premiums or discounts, changes in fair value of interest rate derivatives, impairment of equity method investment and deferred taxes. Cheniere’s Distributable Cash Flow includes
We believe Distributable Cash Flow is a useful performance measure for management, investors and other users of our financial information to evaluate our performance and to measure and estimate the ability of our assets to generate cash earnings after servicing our debt, paying cash taxes and expending sustaining capital, that could be used for discretionary purposes such as common stock dividends, stock repurchases, retirement of debt, or expansion capital expenditures. Distributable Cash Flow is not intended to represent cash flows from operations or net income (loss) as defined by
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FAQ
What were Cheniere Energy's Q1 2022 financial results for LNG and CQP?
Why did Cheniere raise its full-year guidance for LNG in 2022?
What significant contracts did Cheniere enter in early 2022?
How did Cheniere address its net loss in Q1 2022?