Cheniere Partners Reports Third Quarter 2017 Results, Revises 2017 Guidance and Provides Full Year 2018 Distribution Guidance

HOUSTON, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Summary of Third Quarter 2017 Results (in millions, except LNG data)

Revised 2017 Full Year Distribution Guidance

2018 Full Year Distribution Guidance

Recent Achievements

Strategic

• As of October 31, 2017, more than 200 cumulative LNG cargoes had been produced, loaded, and exported from the SPL Project (defined below), with deliveries completed to 25 countries worldwide. Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC has successfully fulfilled its obligations to the foundation customers of Trains 1-3 and provided LNG to the marketing function of Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Operational

• Substantial completion of Train 4 of the SPL Project was achieved in October 2017, more than five months ahead of the guaranteed completion date.
• LNG production operations at the SPL Project continued uninterrupted during Hurricane Harvey.

Financial

• In August 2017, the Date of First Commercial Delivery ("DFCD") relating to Train 2 of the SPL Project was reached under the respective 20-year Sale and Purchase Agreements ("SPAs") with Gas Natural Fenosa LNG GOM, Limited and BG Gulf Coast LNG, LLC.
• In September 2017, we issued an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion of 5.250% Senior Notes due 2025 ("the 2025 CQP Senior Notes"). Net proceeds of the offering, after deducting commissions, fees and expenses, were used to prepay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under our credit facilities.
• In September 2017, Moody's Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings assigned ratings of Ba2 / BB / BB, respectively to the 2025 CQP Senior Notes.

Liquefaction Project Update

Construction operations at the SPL Project have returned to productivity levels achieved prior to Hurricane Harvey.

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Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. ("Cheniere Partners") (NYSE American: CQP) reported net income of $23 million and $116 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, compared to net losses of $82 million and $257 million for the comparable periods in 2016.  Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 was $298 million and $900 million, respectively, compared to $100 million and $164 million for the comparable 2016 periods.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, 44 and 135 LNG cargoes, respectively, were exported from the SPL Project, of which 5 and 12, respectively, were commissioning cargoes.

Variances in results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, were primarily driven by increased income from operations, due primarily to the timing of completion of Trains and the length of each Train's operations within the periods being compared, partially offset by increased interest expense, net of amounts capitalized. Total revenues increased $572 million and $2.2 billion during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, primarily due to the increased volume of LNG sold that was recognized as revenues following the achievement of substantial completion of these Trains.

Total operating costs and expenses increased $423 million and $1.7 billion during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively, compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. The increase in total operating costs and expenses was primarily due to an increase in cost of sales and, to a lesser extent, from increases in operating and maintenance expense and depreciation and amortization expense, partially offset by a decrease in general and administrative expense.

SPL Project Update

Through Cheniere Partners, we are developing up to six Trains at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities (the "SPL Project"). Each Train is expected to have a nominal production capacity, which is prior to adjusting for planned maintenance, production reliability, and potential overdesign, of approximately 4.5 million tonnes per annum ("mtpa") of LNG. Trains 1 through 4 are operational, Train 5 is under construction, and Train 6 is being commercialized and has all necessary regulatory approvals in place.

Distributions to Unitholders

We will pay a cash distribution per common unit and subordinated unit of $0.44 to unitholders of record as of November 3, 2017 and the related general partner distribution on November 14, 2017.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

Cheniere Energy, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss its financial and operating results for the third quarter on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 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. The call and accompanying slide presentation may include financial and operating results or other information regarding Cheniere Partners.

¹Non-GAAP financial measure. See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures" for further details.

About Cheniere Partners
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sabine Pass LNG, L.P., Cheniere Partners owns 100% of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on the Sabine-Neches Waterway less than four miles from the Gulf Coast. The Sabine Pass LNG terminal includes existing infrastructure of five LNG storage tanks with capacity of approximately 16.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), two marine berths that can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000 cubic meters and vaporizers with regasification capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d.  Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P., Cheniere Partners also owns a 94-mile pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with a number of large interstate pipelines.

Cheniere Partners, through its subsidiary, SPL, is developing, constructing, and operating natural gas liquefaction facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities. Cheniere Partners, through SPL, plans to construct over time up to six liquefaction trains, which are in various stages of development, construction, and operations.  Trains 1 through 4 are operational, Train 5 is under construction and Train 6 is being commercialized and has all necessary regulatory approvals in place. Each liquefaction train is expected to have a nominal production capacity, which is prior to adjusting for planned maintenance, production reliability, and potential overdesign, of approximately 4.5 mtpa of LNG. SPL has entered into six third-party LNG SPAs that in the aggregate equate to approximately 19.75 mtpa of LNG and commence with the date of first commercial delivery of Trains 1 through 5 as specified in the respective SPAs.

For additional information, please refer to the Cheniere Partners website at www.cheniere.com and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." 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 Partners' 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 Partners' LNG terminal and liquefaction business, (iv) statements regarding the business operations and prospects of third parties, (v) statements regarding potential financing arrangements, and (vi) statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts. Although Cheniere Partners 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 Partners' 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 Partners' 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 Partners does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

 (Financial Table Follows)

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

Regulation G Reconciliation

In addition to disclosing financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the accompanying news release contains a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that is used to facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods. This non-GAAP measure 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 the reconciliation from these results should be carefully evaluated.

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by taking net income (loss) before 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 and changes in the fair value of our commodity derivatives. 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 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. Management believes 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 other items not otherwise predictive or indicative of ongoing operating performance enables comparability to prior period performance and trend analysis.

Adjusted EBITDA

The following table reconciles our Adjusted EBITDA to U.S. GAAP results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 (in millions):

SOURCE Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.

Related Links

http://www.cheniere.com