US-listed Excelerate Energy has improved its third-quarter income on the back of higher charter rates secured on floating storage and regasification units in Europe and South America.
Excelerate reported that its net income for the three-month period to the end of September rose to $46.5m from $37.3m in the same three quarters of 2022.
The company flagged increased rates on charters in Finland, Argentina, Brazil and Germany, and lower operating lease expenses following the acquisition of the 173,467-cbm FSRU Sequoia (built 2020) in 2023 for the higher figures.
It said this was partially offset by the end of its contract in the fourth quarter of 2022 to deploy one of its FSRUs off Israel.
But Excelerate’s revenues for the quarter crumbled to $275.5m, from $803.3m in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Excelerate president and chief executive Steven Kobos described the earnings as “robust”.
Kobos said: “Expanding our core regasification business remains an integral part of our growth strategy.”
He said the company has more than $4bn of predictable future contracted FSRU and terminal service cash flows, giving it a stronger financial position.
In October, Excelerate inked a 10-year time charter with Brazilian energy company Petrobras for the Sequoia under a fixed fee contract that starts on 1 January 2024. The vessel will be located at the Bahia Regasification Terminal in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
This week, Excelerate also announced it has signed a long-term LNG sale-and-purchase agreement with Bangladesh energy company Petrobangla under which it will supply 850,000 tonnes per annum to one million tonnes per annum of LNG over 15 years from 2026.
The take-or-pay LNG volumes are expected to be delivered through Excelerate’s two existing FSRUs — the 138,120-cbm Excellence (built 2005) and 138,000-cbm Summit LNG (built 2006, ex-Excelerate) — in Bangladesh.
Kobos said: “Continued geopolitical instability has underscored the importance of global energy security. The need for flexible LNG infrastructure and the essential services that Excelerate provides has never been greater.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to deploy our assets to bolster energy security and advance the decarbonisation initiatives for customers across our global footprint.”
Excelerate revised its full-year earnings guidance range for 2023 upwards.
The company is now expecting its adjusted Ebitda to be between $340m and $350m, up from $325m to $335m as advised in the second quarter — with maintenance capital expenditure for 2023 forecast to be in the range of $20m to $25m.
