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Cheniere Reports Second Quarter 2019 Results and Reconfirms Full Year 2019 Guidance

August 8, 2019 8:00 AM

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: LNG):

Summary of Second Quarter 2019 Results (in millions, except LNG data)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2019

2018

% Change

2019

2018

% Change

Revenues

$

2,292

$

1,543

49

%

$

4,553

$

3,785

20

%

Net income (loss)1

$

(114

)

$

(18

)

533

%

$

27

$

339

(92

)%

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA2

$

615

$

531

16

%

$

1,265

$

1,438

(12

)%

LNG exported:

Number of cargoes

104

61

70

%

191

128

49

%

Volumes (TBtu)

361

219

65

%

671

463

45

%

LNG volumes loaded (TBtu)

360

222

62

%

669

463

44

%

Summary 2019 Full Year Guidance (in billions)

2019

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA2

$

2.9

-

$

3.2

Distributable Cash Flow2

$

0.6

-

$

0.8

Recent Highlights

Strategic

Operational

Financial

Liquefaction Projects Update

SPL Project

CCL Project

Liquefaction Train

Train 6

Train 2

Train 3

Project Status

Under
Construction

Commissioning

Under
Construction

Project Completion Percentage(1)

32.4%(2)

99.5%(3)

62.4%(4)

Expected Substantial Completion

1H 2023

3Q 2019

2H 2021

Note: Projects update excludes Trains in operation

(1)

Project completion percentages as of June 30, 2019

(2)

Engineering 74.1% complete, procurement 48.2% complete, and construction 2.1% complete

(3)

Completion percentage for Stage 1, includes Trains 1 and 2

(4)

Engineering 94.3% complete, procurement 92.5% complete, and construction 29.2% complete

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (“Cheniere”) (NYSE American: LNG) reported a net loss1 of $114 million, or $0.44 per share (basic and diluted), for the three months ended June 30, 2019, compared to a net loss of $18 million, or $0.07 per share (basic and diluted), for the comparable 2018 period. Cheniere reported a net income of $27 million, or $0.11 per share (basic and diluted) for the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to net income1 of $339 million, or $1.42 per share - basic and $1.40 per share - diluted, for the comparable 2018 period. Net loss increased during the three months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018 and net income decreased during the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018 primarily due to increased total operating costs and expenses as a result of additional Trains in operation between each of the periods and certain maintenance and related activities at the SPL Project, increased interest expense, increased net derivative loss, and decreased margins per MMBtu of LNG recognized in income primarily due to decreased pricing on LNG sold by our marketing affiliate, partially offset by increased volumes of LNG recognized in income and decreased net income attributable to non-controlling interest.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA2 for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $615 million, compared to $531 million for the comparable 2018 period. The increase in Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to increased income from operations.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was $1.27 billion, compared to $1.44 billion for the comparable 2018 period. The decrease in Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to decreased income from operations and decreased adjustments for certain non-cash items including net gain from changes in fair value of commodity and foreign exchange (“FX”) derivatives.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, 104 LNG cargoes were exported from our liquefaction projects, one of which was a commissioning cargo. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, 191 LNG cargoes were exported from our liquefaction projects, of which eight were commissioning cargoes. Twelve cargoes exported from our liquefaction projects and sold on a delivered basis were in transit as of June 30, 2019, one of which was a commissioning cargo.

“The second quarter was highlighted by continued execution on our growth plans through a positive FID on Train 6 at Sabine Pass, continued commercial innovation with the long-term IPM contract with Apache, and continued financial discipline, reflected in the capital allocation framework we announced during the quarter,” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “LNG volumes in our portfolio, via early completion of Trains and excellent operational performance at both Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, continue to help offset relative softness in short-term LNG market pricing. Our outlook for the remainder of 2019 remains strong, and we are reiterating our full year Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow guidance today.”

LNG Volume Summary

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 three and six months ended June 30, 2019:

Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

Six Months Ended June 30, 2019

(in TBtu)

Operational

Commissioning

Operational

Commissioning

Volumes loaded during the current period

361

3

645

28

Volumes loaded during the prior period but recognized during the current period

27

25

3

Less: volumes loaded during the current period and in transit at the end of the period

(36

)

(3

)

(36

)

(3

)

Total volumes recognized in the current period

352

634

28

In addition, during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, we recognized the financial impact of 5 TBtu of LNG and 23 TBtu of LNG, respectively, on our Consolidated Financial Statements related to LNG cargoes sourced from third parties.

Summary of Financial Performance

Second Quarter and Full Year 2019 Results

Our financial results are reported on a consolidated basis. Our ownership interest in Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (“Cheniere Partners”) (NYSE American: CQP) as of June 30, 2019 consisted of 100% ownership of the general partner and a 48.6% limited partner interest.

Income from operations increased $96 million during the three months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the comparable 2018 period. The increase in income from operations was primarily driven by an increase in LNG volumes recognized in income due primarily to additional Trains in operation and increased net gain from changes in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives, partially offset by decreased pricing of LNG sales recognized in income and increased total operating costs and expenses as a result of additional Trains in operation and certain maintenance and related activities at the SPL Project.

Income from operations decreased $45 million during the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the comparable 2018 period. The decrease in income from operations was primarily driven by increased total operating costs and expenses as a result of additional Trains in operation and certain maintenance and related activities at the SPL Project and decreased pricing of LNG sales recognized in income, partially offset by an increase in LNG volumes recognized in income primarily due to additional Trains in operation and increased net gain from changes in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives.

Selling, general and administrative expense included share-based compensation expenses of $23 million and $43 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $20 million and $38 million for the comparable 2018 periods.

Net income attributable to non-controlling interest decreased $52 million and $99 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the comparable 2018 periods, primarily due to the decrease of non-controlling interest as a result of our merger with Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings, LLC in September 2018. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, net income attributable to non-controlling interest also decreased as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018 due to the decrease in consolidated net income recognized by Cheniere Partners, in which the non-controlling interests are held.

Capital Resources

As of June 30, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $2.3 billion on a consolidated basis, of which $1.0 billion was held by Cheniere Partners. In addition, we had current restricted cash of $1.2 billion designated for the following purposes: $596 million for the SPL Project, $279 million for the CCL Project and $286 million for other restricted purposes.

Liquefaction Projects

SPL Project and CCL Project

Through Cheniere Partners, we are developing six natural gas liquefaction Trains at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities (the “SPL Project”). Trains 1 through 5 are operational and Train 6 is under construction.

We are developing three Trains near Corpus Christi, Texas (the “CCL Project”). Train 1 is operational, Train 2 is undergoing commissioning, and Train 3 is under construction.

Our Trains are expected to have a nominal production capacity, which is prior to adjusting for planned maintenance, production reliability, potential overdesign, and debottlenecking opportunities, of approximately 4.5 mtpa of LNG per Train, and average run rate adjusted nominal production capacity of approximately 4.7 to 5.0 mtpa of LNG per Train.

Corpus Christi Stage 3

We are developing up to seven midscale liquefaction Trains adjacent to the CCL Project (“Corpus Christi Stage 3”), each with an expected nominal production capacity, which is prior to adjusting for planned maintenance, production reliability, potential overdesign, and debottlenecking opportunities, of approximately 1.4 mtpa of LNG. The total expected nominal production capacity of the seven midscale Trains is approximately 9.5 mtpa of LNG. In June 2018, we filed an application with FERC to site, construct, and operate Corpus Christi Stage 3, and we are in the process of obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals for Corpus Christi Stage 3.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

We will host a conference call to discuss our financial and operating results for the second quarter on Thursday, August 8, 2019, 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 (loss) as used herein refers to Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders 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 liquefied natural gas (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 expected adjusted aggregate nominal production capacity of up to 45 million tonnes per annum of LNG operating or 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 June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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 expectations regarding regulatory authorizations and approvals, (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, and (vii) statements relating to the amount and timing of share repurchases. 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 Follow)

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

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

June 30,

June 30,

2019

2018

2019

2018

Revenues

LNG revenues

$

2,173

$

1,442

$

4,316

$

3,608

Regasification revenues

67

65

133

130

Other revenues

52

36

104

47

Total revenues

2,292

1,543

4,553

3,785

Operating costs and expenses

Cost of sales (excluding depreciation and amortization expense shown separately below)

1,277

873

2,491

2,051

Operating and maintenance expense

295

147

516

287

Development expense

3

3

4

4

Selling, general and administrative expense

77

73

150

140

Depreciation and amortization expense

204

111

348

220

Impairment expense and loss on disposal of assets

4

6

Total operating costs and expenses

1,860

1,207

3,515

2,702

Income from operations

432

336

1,038

1,083

Other income (expense)

Interest expense, net of capitalized interest

(372

)

(216

)

(619

)

(432

)

Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt

(15

)

(15

)

Derivative gain (loss), net

(74

)

32

(109

)

109

Other income

16

10

32

17

Total other expense

(430

)

(189

)

(696

)

(321

)

Income before income taxes and non-controlling interest

2

147

342

762

Income tax benefit (provision)

3

(3

)

(12

)

Net income

2

150

339

750

Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest

116

168

312

411

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

$

(114

)

$

(18

)

$

27

$

339

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders—basic

$

(0.44

)

$

(0.07

)

$

0.11

$

1.42

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders—diluted

(0.44

)

(0.07

)

$

0.11

$

1.40

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—basic

257.4

242.8

257.3

239.2

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding—diluted

257.4

242.8

258.6

241.7

_______________________

(1)

Please refer to the Cheniere Energy, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(2)

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)

June 30,

December 31,

2019

2018

ASSETS

(unaudited)

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$

2,279

$

981

Restricted cash

1,161

2,175

Accounts and other receivables

433

585

Inventory

290

316

Derivative assets

127

63

Other current assets

135

114

Total current assets

4,425

4,234

Property, plant and equipment, net

29,073

27,245

Operating lease assets, net

502

Debt issuance costs, net

55

72

Non-current derivative assets

103

54

Goodwill

77

77

Other non-current assets, net

337

305

Total assets

$

34,572

$

31,987

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

$

120

$

58

Accrued liabilities

1,572

1,169

Current debt

239

Deferred revenue

136

139

Current operating lease liabilities

292

Derivative liabilities

84

128

Other current liabilities

3

9

Total current liabilities

2,207

1,742

Long-term debt, net

29,944

28,179

Non-current operating lease liabilities

202

Non-current finance lease liabilities

58

57

Non-current derivative liabilities

94

22

Other non-current liabilities

44

58

Commitments and contingencies

Stockholders’ equity

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 5.0 million shares authorized, none issued

Common stock, $0.003 par value

Authorized: 480.0 million shares at June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018

Issued: 270.5 million shares at June 30, 2019 and 269.8 million shares at December 31, 2018

Outstanding: 257.5 million shares at June 30, 2019 and 257.0 million shares at December 31, 2018

1

1

Treasury stock: 13.0 million shares and 12.8 million shares at June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively, at cost

(423

)

(406

)

Additional paid-in-capital

4,097

4,035

Accumulated deficit

(4,129

)

(4,156

)

Total stockholders’ deficit

(454

)

(526

)

Non-controlling interest

2,477

2,455

Total equity

2,023

1,929

Total liabilities and equity

$

34,572

$

31,987

_______________________

(1)

Please refer to the Cheniere Energy, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

Regulation G Reconciliations

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.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA represents net income (loss) attributable to Cheniere before net income attributable to non-controlling interest, interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for certain non-cash items, other non-operating income or expense items, and other items not otherwise predictive or indicative of ongoing operating performance, as detailed in the following reconciliation. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to represent cash flows from operations or net income (loss) as defined by U.S. GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

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 business performance. We believe Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization which vary substantially from company to company depending on capital structure, the method by which assets were acquired and depreciation policies. Further, the exclusion of certain non-cash items, other non-operating income or expense items, and items not otherwise predictive or indicative of ongoing operating performance enables comparability to prior period performance and trend analysis.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by taking net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders before net income 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 and non-cash compensation expense. 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.

Distributable Cash Flow is defined as cash received, or expected to be received, from Cheniere’s ownership and interests in CQP, cash received (used) by Cheniere’s integrated marketing function (other than cash for capital expenditures) less interest, taxes and maintenance capital expenditures associated with Cheniere and not the underlying entities. Management uses this measure and believes it provides users of our financial statements a useful measure reflective of our business’s ability to generate cash earnings to supplement the comparable GAAP measure.

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. Management uses this measure and believes it provides users of our financial statements a useful measure reflective of our business’s ability to generate cash earnings to supplement the comparable GAAP measure. Distributable Cash Flow is not intended to represent cash flows from operations or net income (loss) as defined by U.S. GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

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.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA

The following table reconciles our Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to U.S. GAAP results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 (in millions):

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

June 30,

June 30,

2019

2018

2019

2018

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

$

(114

)

$

(18

)

$

27

$

339

Net income attributable to non-controlling interest

116

168

312

411

Income tax provision (benefit)

(3

)

3

12

Interest expense, net of capitalized interest

372

216

619

432

Derivative loss (gain), net

74

(32

)

109

(109

)

Other income

(16

)

(10

)

(32

)

(17

)

Income from operations

$

432

$

336

$

1,038

$

1,083

Adjustments to reconcile income from operations to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA:

Depreciation and amortization expense

204

111

348

220

Loss (gain) from changes in fair value of commodity and FX derivatives, net

(56

)

65

(183

)

102

Total non-cash compensation expense

31

19

56

33

Impairment expense and loss on disposal of assets

4

6

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA

$

615

$

531

$

1,265

$

1,438

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow

The following table reconciles our actual Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow to Net income attributable to common stockholders for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and forecast amounts for full year 2019 (in billions):

Three Months

Six Months

Ended

Ended

Full Year

June 30, 2019

June 30, 2019

2019

Net income attributable to common stockholders

$

(0.11

)

$

0.03

$

0.0

-

$

0.2

Net income attributable to non-controlling interest

0.12

0.31

0.5

-

0.6

Income tax provision

0.00

0.00

0.0

Interest expense, net of capitalized interest

0.37

0.62

1.5

Depreciation and amortization expense

0.20

0.35

0.8

Other expense, financing costs, and certain non-cash operating expenses

0.04

(0.04

)

0.1

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA

$

0.62

$

1.27

$

2.9

-

$

3.2

Distributions to CQP non-controlling interest

(0.15

)

(0.30

)

(0.6

)

SPL and CQP cash retained and interest expense

(0.28

)

(0.59

)

(1.5

)

Cheniere interest expense, income tax and other

(0.07

)

(0.06

)

(0.3

)

Cheniere Distributable Cash Flow

$

0.12

$

0.32

$

0.6

-

$

0.8

_______________________

Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Investors

Randy Bhatia, 713-375-5479

Megan Light, 713-375-5492

or

Media Relations

Eben Burnham-Snyder, 713-375-5764

Jenna Palfrey, 713-375-5491

Source: Cheniere Energy, Inc.

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