Venture Global lifts annual core profit forecast on higher liquefaction fees, LNG sales

May 12 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Venture Global VG.N raised its full-year adjusted core profit forecast on Tuesday, banking on higher liquefaction fees and LNG sales volumes, sending its shares up 8.4% in premarket trading.

Exports volumes of the superchilled fuel from the U.S. have risen sharply after the conflict in the Middle East disrupted energy markets, knocking nearly 20% of global LNG supply offline and forcing buyers to seek alternative routes.

Venture Global exported 130 cargos and sold 481 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of LNG during the first quarter, compared with 63 cargos and 228.3 TBtu a year earlier.

In 2026, it expects to export 147 to 154 cargos from the Calcasieu Project in Louisiana and 347 to 369 cargos from the Plaquemines Project.

The company also signed new LNG supply agreements with TotalEnergies TTEF.PA and trading house Vitol, with combined sales of just over 1 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) for the next five years.

Venture Global now assumes a fixed liquefaction fee range of $9.50 to $10.50 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for its remaining unsold LNG cargos in 2026, compared with $5 to $6 per MMBtu last year.

Liquefaction fees are a key earnings component for U.S. LNG plants, which are typically fixed under long-term contracts, with the ability to adjust pricing based on global LNG market conditions.

Quarterly net income rose 23.2% to $488 million due to higher LNG sales volumes at the Plaquemines Project in Louisiana.

It now expects 2026 adjusted core earnings to be between $8.2 billion and $8.5 billion, compared with a prior view of $5.20 billion to $5.80 billion.

In late March, Venture Global and Italy's Edison EDNn.MI reached an agreement to settle a long-running arbitration over claims that the U.S. LNG exporter failed to deliver contracted shipments.

Edison and several companies had accused Venture Global of selling LNG on the spot market at higher prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rather than supply contracted volumes from initial production at the Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana.

Shell SHEL.L and Repsol REP.MC lost their cases, while BP BP.L won its case last year.