Venture Global lowers its 2026 profit forecast due to the winter storm and LNG margin squeeze
Venture Global, a U.S. LNG company, forecast its 2026 core profit to be?below Wall Street's expectations on Monday. This was due to the?impacts of Winter Storm Fern as well as margin compression during the first quarter.
Last month,?reported that?exports?of liquefied gas from the U.S. dropped to 11.3 million tonnes in January from 11.5 mmt during December due to a winter freeze which closed some plants and reduced output in others.
As a result of the trend to sell LNG under long-term contracts, margins are squeezed and companies like Venture Global cannot capitalize on price surges in the short term.
The company's fourth-quarter revenue almost tripled, to $4.4 billion. Its?net profit rose 23%, to $1.07billion, thanks to increased LNG sales at the Plaquemines Project, in?Louisiana. This project began shipping LNG in December 2024.
The U.S. will be the first nation to export 100 million metric tonnes (mmt) or more of LNG in one year by 2025. This is due to the start-up of new LNG plants.
After Donald Trump took office in 2017, he lifted the moratorium on new LNG Export Permits.
The company announced on Monday that it had signed an agreement with commodity trader Trafigura to supply 0.5 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG for five years starting in 2026. This brings the total number of new contracts from 2025 until now to 9.75 mtpa.
Venture?Global anticipates exporting 145-156 cargoes?from the Calcasieu Project?in Louisiana and 341-371 cargoes?from the Plaquemines Project?in?2026.
According to LSEG, the Arlington, Virginia, based company expects its 2026 core earnings to be between $5.20 and $5.80 Billion, compared to an average analyst estimate of $6.03 Billion. (Reporting from Pooja Menon, Bengaluru. Editing by Vijay Kishore.)
(source: Reuters)
