New Fortress Energy underperforms, but claims pole position for LNG

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A slight miss on third quarter earnings on Tuesday did little to curb the ambitions of New York-based New Fortress Energy, which said it was leading the way in global supplies of liquefied natural gas.

New Fortress Energy reported third quarter revenue of $732 million, about 1.3% lower than the estimate from Zacks Equity Research. Zacks finds that New Fortress beat the consensus estimate on quarterly revenues only once during the last four quarters.

The company nevertheless was undeterred. It expects to meet its goal for the year for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA -- a measure of cash profits from company operations -- of $1.1 billion for 2020.

By next year, it estimates EBIDTA to pass the $2 billion mark on the back of the deployment of a floating liquefied natural gas terminal and improved operating margins. New Fortress Energy adds that its work on a so-called Fast LNG program, which utilizes modular technology to lower costs and quicken the pace of deployment, makes it a world leader in LNG.

"Our Fast LNG units represent more than half of the world's expected incremental LNG supply in 2023-2024, which we expect will be utilized in the near term to address Europe's energy security issues," the company stated.

U.S. LNG developments are particularly useful for a European economy looking for alternatives to piped gas from Russia. Western powers accuse the Kremlin of using its vast pool of natural resources as a weapon, accusations that only resonated more after Russian military forces invaded Ukraine.

A separate report published Tuesday by a group affiliated with the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, or TIPRO, found 74% of total exports of U.S.-sourced LNG went to Europe during the first half of the year, compared with around 34% during the same period last year.

"Texas energy -- from our wells in West Texas to our ports along the Gulf of Mexico -- enabled America to meet European gas needs in a time of crisis," TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said.

Federal data show the amount of natural gas delivered to LNG export terminals averaged 11.9 billion cubic feet per day, a 3.5% increase from week-ago levels. Between Oct. 27 and Nov. 4, there were 21 vessels laden with LNG that left U.S. export terminals.

Total LNG deliveries to Europe are overwhelming the bloc's capacity to return that to the gaseous form for pipeline injection, leading to a line of vessels waiting to unload.