Cheniere Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results and Raises Full Year 2024 Financial Guidance

October 31, 2024

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cheniere Energy, Inc. (“Cheniere”) (NYSE: LNG) today announced its financial results for the third quarter 2024.

THIRD QUARTER 2024 SUMMARY FINANCIAL RESULTS

(in billions)	Three Months Ended September 30, 2024	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
Revenues	$3.8	$11.3
Net Income¹	$0.9	$2.3
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA²	$1.5	$4.6
Distributable Cash Flow²	$0.8	$2.7

2024 FULL YEAR FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

(in billions)	2024 Previous			2024 Revised
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA²	$5.7	–	$6.1	$6.0	–	$6.3
Distributable Cash Flow²	$3.1	–	$3.5	$3.4	–	$3.7

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, Cheniere generated revenues of approximately $3.8 billion and $11.3 billion, net income¹ of approximately $0.9 billion and $2.3 billion, Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA² of approximately $1.5 billion and $4.6 billion, and Distributable Cash Flow² of approximately $0.8 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively.

Raising and tightening full year 2024 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA² guidance to $6.0 billion – $6.3 billion and full year 2024 Distributable Cash Flow² guidance to $3.4 billion – $3.7 billion.

Pursuant to Cheniere’s comprehensive capital allocation plan, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, Cheniere repurchased an aggregate of approximately 1.6 million and 12.2 million shares of common stock for approximately $282 million and $2.0 billion, respectively, repaid $150 million and $450 million of consolidated long-term indebtedness, respectively, and paid quarterly dividends of $0.435 and $1.305 per share of common stock, respectively.

For the third quarter 2024, Cheniere increased its quarterly dividend by approximately 15% to $0.500 per share of common stock, which is payable on November 18, 2024.

In October 2024, Cheniere announced a voluntary, measurement-informed Scope 1 methane emissions intensity target for its liquefaction facilities. The target builds upon Cheniere’s climate strategy, leveraging data from its emissions measurement and mitigation programs and is consistent with the requirements to achieve Gold Standard under its membership in the United Nations Environment Programme’s Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0.

In September 2024, Cheniere produced and loaded its 1,000^th liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) cargo for export from the CCL Project (defined below), which discharged in Italy. Since 2016, Cheniere has produced and exported a total of approximately 3,720 cargoes from the SPL Project (defined below) and the CCL Project, which have been delivered to approximately 40 markets around the world.

In August 2024, Cheniere published Energy Secured, Benefits Delivered, its fifth annual Corporate Responsibility report, which details Cheniere’s approach and progress on environmental, social and governance issues.

In July 2024, Cheniere Marketing, LLC (“Cheniere Marketing”) entered into a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement (“SPA”) with Galp Trading S.A. (“Galp”), a subsidiary of Galp Energia, SGPS, S.A., under which Galp has agreed to purchase approximately 0.5 million tonnes per annum (“mtpa”) of LNG for 20 years from Cheniere Marketing on a free-on-board basis. Deliveries are expected to commence in the early 2030s and are subject to, among other things, a positive Final Investment Decision with respect to the second train of the SPL Expansion Project (defined below).

In July 2024, Fitch Ratings upgraded its issuer credit rating of Cheniere Corpus Christi Holdings, LLC (“CCH”) from BBB to BBB+ with a stable outlook, representing the 22^nd credit rating upgrade across the Cheniere complex since 2021. In October 2024, S&P Global Ratings changed the outlook of CCH from stable to positive.

CEO COMMENT

“Our team’s unwavering focus on safety, execution and capital discipline once again enabled key achievements throughout our business, highlighted by our 1,000^th LNG cargo at Corpus Christi, continued progress on Stage 3, and further follow-through on our comprehensive capital allocation plan,” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our outstanding results and improved outlook enable us to further raise and tighten our guidance ranges for 2024, while the progress achieved on Stage 3 provides increased visibility into our production forecast for 2025. As we complete another strong year at Cheniere, reinforcing our track record for operational excellence and safety, executing on our long-term capital allocation plan, and growing our leading infrastructure platform remain our foremost priorities as we aim to reliably meet the energy needs of our customers worldwide for decades to come.”

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF FINANCIAL RESULTS

(in millions, except LNG data)	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2024		2023		% Change		2024		2023		% Change
Revenues	$	3,763	$	4,159	(10	)%	$	11,267	$	15,571	(28	)%
Net income¹	$	893	$	1,701	(48	)%	$	2,275	$	8,504	(73	)%
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA²	$	1,483	$	1,663	(11	)%	$	4,578	$	7,120	(36	)%
LNG exported:
Number of cargoes		158		152	4	%		479		468	2	%
Volumes (TBtu)		568		545	4	%		1,723		1,684	2	%
LNG volumes loaded (TBtu)		568		548	4	%		1,721		1,684	2	%

Net income¹ decreased approximately $808 million and $6.2 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the corresponding 2023 periods. The decreases were primarily attributable to $923 million and $6.1 billion of unfavorable variances related to changes in fair value of our derivative instruments (before tax and non-controlling interests) (further described below) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the corresponding 2023 periods. The decreases were partially offset by lower provisions for income tax, as well as lower net income attributable to non-controlling interests during both periods.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA decreased approximately $180 million and $2.5 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to the corresponding 2023 periods. The decreases were primarily due to a higher proportion of our LNG being sold under long-term contracts as well as the moderation of international gas prices, resulting in lower total margins per MMBtu of LNG delivered during both periods as compared to the corresponding 2023 periods. The decrease in the three months ended September 30, 2024 was partially offset by higher overall volumes of LNG delivered during the period.

A significant portion of the derivative gains (losses) relate to the use of commodity derivative instruments indexed to international gas and LNG prices, primarily related to our long-term Integrated Production Marketing (“IPM”) agreements. Our IPM agreements are designed to provide stable margins on purchases of natural gas and sales of LNG over the life of the agreements and have a fixed fee component, similar to that of LNG sold under our long-term, fixed fee LNG SPAs. However, the long-term duration and international price basis of our IPM agreements make them particularly susceptible to fluctuations in fair market value from period to period. In addition, accounting requirements prescribe recognition of these long-term gas supply agreements at fair value each reporting period on a mark-to-market basis, but do not currently permit mark-to-market recognition of the corresponding sale of LNG, resulting in a mismatch of accounting recognition for the purchase of natural gas and sale of LNG. As a result of continued moderation of international gas price volatility and changes in international forward commodity curves during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, we recognized $797 million and $1.3 billion, respectively, of non-cash favorable changes in fair value attributable to such positions (before tax and non-controlling interests), compared to $1.2 billion and $5.8 billion of non-cash favorable changes in fair value in the corresponding 2023 periods, respectively.

Share-based compensation expenses included in net income totaled $47 million and $139 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, compared to $42 million and $128 million for the corresponding 2023 periods, respectively.

Our financial results are reported on a consolidated basis. Our ownership interest in Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (“Cheniere Partners”) (NYSE: CQP) as of September 30, 2024 consisted of 100% ownership of the general partner and a 48.6% limited partner interest.

BALANCE SHEET MANAGEMENT

Capital Resources

The table below provides a summary of our available liquidity (in millions) as of September 30, 2024:

	September 30, 2024
Cash and cash equivalents ⁽¹⁾	$	2,663
Restricted cash and cash equivalents ⁽²⁾		413
Available commitments under our credit facilities:
Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC (“SPL”) Revolving Credit Facility		766
Cheniere Partners Revolving Credit Facility		1,000
CCH Credit Facility		3,260
CCH Working Capital Facility		1,390
Cheniere Revolving Credit Facility		1,250
Total available commitments under our credit facilities		7,666

Total available liquidity	$	10,742

(1)	$331 million of cash and cash equivalents was held by our consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”).
(2)	$103 million of restricted cash and cash equivalents was held by our consolidated VIEs.

Recent Key Financial Transactions and Updates

During the three months ended September 30, 2024, SPL repaid $150 million in principal amount of its 5.625% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 with cash on hand.

LIQUEFACTION PROJECTS OVERVIEW

SPL Project

Through Cheniere Partners, we operate six natural gas liquefaction Trains for a total production capacity of approximately 30 mtpa of LNG at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana (the “SPL Project”).

SPL Expansion Project

Through Cheniere Partners, we are developing an expansion adjacent to the SPL Project with an expected total production capacity of up to approximately 20 mtpa of LNG (the “SPL Expansion Project”), inclusive of estimated debottlenecking opportunities. In February 2024, certain subsidiaries of Cheniere Partners submitted an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) for authorization to site, construct and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as an application to the Department of Energy (“DOE”) requesting authorization to export LNG to Free-Trade Agreement (“FTA”) and non-FTA countries, both of which applications exclude debottlenecking. In October 2024, we received authorization from the DOE to export LNG to FTA countries.

CCL Project

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, Texas (the “CCL Project”).

CCL Stage 3 Project

We are constructing an expansion adjacent to the CCL Project consisting of seven midscale Trains with an expected total production capacity of over 10 mtpa of LNG (the “CCL Stage 3 Project”). First LNG production from the first train of the CCL Stage 3 Project is expected to be achieved by the end of 2024.

CCL Stage 3 Project Progress as of September 30, 2024:

	CCL Stage 3 Project
Project Status	Under Construction
Project Completion Percentage	67.8%⁽¹⁾
Expected Substantial Completion	1H 2025 – 2H 2026

(1)	Engineering 95.7% complete, procurement 85.2% complete, subcontract work 87.2% complete and construction 32.0% complete.

CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project

We are developing two additional midscale Trains with an expected total production capacity of approximately 3 mtpa of LNG (the “CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project”) adjacent to the CCL Stage 3 Project. In March 2023, certain of our subsidiaries filed an application with the FERC for authorization to site, construct and operate the CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project, and in April 2023, filed an application with the DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to FTA and non-FTA countries. In July 2023, we received authorization from the DOE to export LNG to FTA countries. In June 2024, we received a positive Environmental Assessment from the FERC and anticipate receiving all remaining necessary regulatory approvals for the project in 2025.

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

We will host a conference call to discuss our financial and operating results for the third quarter 2024 on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 11 a.m. Eastern time / 10 a.m. Central time. A listen-only webcast of the call and an accompanying slide presentation may be accessed through our website at www.cheniere.com. Following the call, an archived recording will be made available on our website.

¹	Net income as used herein refers to Net income attributable to Cheniere Energy, Inc. on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
²	Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” for further details.

About Cheniere

Cheniere Energy, Inc. is the leading producer and exporter of LNG in the United States, reliably providing a clean, secure, and affordable solution to the growing global need for natural gas. Cheniere is a full-service LNG provider, with capabilities that include gas procurement and transportation, liquefaction, vessel chartering, and LNG delivery. Cheniere has one of the largest liquefaction platforms in the world, consisting of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with total production capacity of approximately 45 mtpa of LNG in operation and an additional 10+ mtpa of expected production capacity under construction. Cheniere is also pursuing liquefaction expansion opportunities and other projects along the LNG value chain. Cheniere is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and has additional offices in London, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.

For additional information, please refer to the Cheniere website at www.cheniere.com and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the accompanying news release contains non-GAAP financial measures. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow are non-GAAP financial measures that we use to facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods. These non-GAAP measures should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for our U.S. GAAP measures of performance and the financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP and reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated.

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, share repurchases and execution on the capital allocation plan, and (viii) statements relating to our goals, commitments and strategies in relation to environmental matters. 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required under the securities laws, Cheniere does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

(Financial Tables and Supplementary Information Follow)

LNG VOLUME SUMMARY

As of October 25, 2024, approximately 3,720 cumulative LNG cargoes totaling over 255 million tonnes of LNG have been produced, loaded and exported from our liquefaction projects.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, we exported 568 and 1,723 TBtu, respectively, of LNG from our liquefaction projects. 38 TBtu of LNG exported from our liquefaction projects and sold on a delivered basis was in transit as of September 30, 2024, none of which was related to commissioning activities.

The following table summarizes the volumes of LNG that were loaded from our liquefaction projects and for which the financial impact was recognized on our Consolidated Financial Statements during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024:

(in TBtu)	Three Months Ended September 30, 2024		Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
Volumes loaded during the current period	568		1,721
Volumes loaded during the prior period but recognized during the current period	30		37
Less: volumes loaded during the current period and in transit at the end of the period	(38	)	(38	)
Total volumes recognized in the current period	560		1,720

In addition, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, we recognized 3 and 14 TBtu of LNG on our Consolidated Financial Statements related to LNG cargoes sourced from third-parties.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations (in millions, except per share data)⁽¹⁾ (unaudited)

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenues
LNG revenues	$	3,554		$	3,974		$	10,633		$	14,984
Regasification revenues		34			34			102			101
Other revenues		175			151			532			486
Total revenues		3,763			4,159			11,267			15,571

Operating costs and expenses (recoveries)
Cost (recovery) of sales (excluding items shown separately below) ⁽²⁾		1,255			556			4,275			(71	)
Operating and maintenance expense		450			445			1,364			1,376
Selling, general and administrative expense		99			102			299			296
Depreciation and amortization expense		306			298			912			892
Other operating costs and expenses		6			3			28			24
Total operating costs and expenses		2,116			1,404			6,878			2,517

Income from operations		1,647			2,755			4,389			13,054

Other income (expense)
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest		(247	)		(283	)		(770	)		(871	)
Gain (loss) on modification or extinguishment of debt		—			(3	)		(9	)		15
Interest and dividend income		41			58			149			147
Other income (expense), net		(3	)		4			(1	)		7
Total other expense		(209	)		(224	)		(631	)		(702	)

Income before income taxes and non-controlling interest		1,438			2,531			3,758			12,352
Less: income tax provision		231			440			550			2,119
Net income		1,207			2,091			3,208			10,233
Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest		314			390			933			1,729
Net income attributable to Cheniere	$	893		$	1,701		$	2,275		$	8,504

Net income per share attributable to common stockholders—basic ⁽³⁾	$	3.95		$	7.08		$	9.91		$	35.12
Net income per share attributable to common stockholders—diluted ⁽³⁾	$	3.93		$	7.03		$	9.88		$	34.87

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—basic		226.3			240.2			229.6			242.1
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—diluted		227.0			242.0			230.3			243.9

______________________

(1)	Please refer to the Cheniere Energy, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(2)	Cost of sales includes approximately $0.5 billion and $0.9 billion of gains from changes in the fair value of commodity derivatives prior to contractual delivery or termination during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $1.4 billion and $7.0 billion of gains in the corresponding 2023 periods, respectively.
(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.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions, except share data)⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

	September 30,			December 31,
		2024			2023
	(unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,663		$	4,066
Restricted cash and cash equivalents		413			459
Trade and other receivables, net of current expected credit losses		680			1,106
Inventory		394			445
Current derivative assets		94			141
Margin deposits		102			18
Other current assets, net		109			96
Total current assets		4,455			6,331

Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation		33,219			32,456
Operating lease assets		2,859			2,641
Derivative assets		1,661			863
Deferred tax assets		26			26
Other non-current assets, net		855			759
Total assets	$	43,075		$	43,076

LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NON-CONTROLLING INTEREST AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$	137		$	181
Accrued liabilities		1,654			1,780
Current debt, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs		700			300
Deferred revenue		189			179
Current operating lease liabilities		621			655
Current derivative liabilities		801			750
Other current liabilities		54			43
Total current liabilities		4,156			3,888

Long-term debt, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs		22,546			23,397
Operating lease liabilities		2,234			1,971
Finance lease liabilities		495			467
Derivative liabilities		2,217			2,378
Deferred tax liabilities		1,626			1,545
Other non-current liabilities		448			410
Total liabilities		33,722			34,056

Redeemable non-controlling interest		6			—

Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock: $0.0001 par value, 5.0 million shares authorized, none issued		—			—
Common stock: $0.003 par value, 480.0 million shares authorized; 278.5 million shares and 277.9 million shares issued at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively		1			1
Treasury stock: 53.1 million shares and 40.9 million shares at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, at cost		(5,853	)		(3,864	)
Additional paid-in-capital		4,436			4,377
Retained earnings		6,518			4,546
Total Cheniere stockholders’ equity		5,102			5,060
Non-controlling interest		4,245			3,960
Total stockholders’ equity		9,347			9,020
Total liabilities, redeemable non-controlling interest and stockholders’ equity	$	43,075		$	43,076