Venture Global increases its annual core profit forecast due to higher liquefaction charges and LNG sales

Venture Global, a U.S. company, raised its core profit forecast for the full year on Tuesday. This was due to higher liquefaction charges and stronger LNG sales volumes.

The export of super-chilled fuels from the U.S. has increased sharply since the Middle East conflict disrupted the energy markets. Nearly 20% of the global LNG supply was knocked offline, forcing buyers to look for alternative routes.

Venture Global sold 481 trillion British Thermal Units (TBtu), or 130 cargos, of LNG in the first quarter. This compares to 63 cargos?and 228,3 TBtu one year ago.

It expects to export between 147 and 154 cargos in 2026 from the Calcasieu Project, Louisiana, and 347 to 369. cargos from "the Plaquemines Project".

The company will now pay a fixed fee of $9.50 - $10.50 for each million British thermal units (MMBtu), compared to $5 - $6 previously, on its remaining LNG cargos that are not sold in 2026.

The liquefaction fee is a major component of earnings for U.S. LNG facilities. These fees are usually fixed by long-term contracts. Companies can adjust the pricing depending on global LNG market conditions.

Arlington, Virginia based company expects its core earnings in 2026 to be between $8.2 and $8.5 billion. This compares to a previous view of $5.20 to $5.80billion.

The company's net income for the quarter rose by 23.2%, to $488 millions. This was boosted by a nearly 59% increase in revenue to $4.6 Billion due to increased LNG sales volumes from?the Plaquemines?Project?in Louisiana.

Venture Global and Italy’s Edison have reached a settlement agreement in late March to end a long-running dispute?over allegations that the U.S. exporter of LNG failed to deliver contracted shipments.

Edison and other companies accused Venture Global, a subsidiary of Edison, of selling LNG at higher prices on the spot market following Russia's invasion in Ukraine rather than supplying contracted volumes from the Calcasieu Pass plant.

Shell and Repsol both lost their cases while BP won last year. (Reporting and editing by Pooja Meenon in Bengaluru, Leroy Leo).

(source: Reuters)