Oct 29 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy raised its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday, driven by higher LNG export volumes as Middle East supply disruptions pushed buyers toward US shipments.
Shares of the largest U.S. LNG exporter rose 4% in premarket trading. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by more than 12% to 62.5 cents per share.
The United States has solidified its position as the world's largest LNG exporter, helped by a more favorable regulatory environment, cheap domestic shale
gas, stronger European demand to replace Russian pipeline supplies and flexible contracts that allow buyers to send US cargoes to higher-margin markets.
The Iran war has also disrupted gas supplies from Qatar, one of the world's largest LNG exporters, and raised concerns over shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting buyers to reassess Gulf exposure and turn to US LNG supplies.
Earlier this month, QatarEnergy agreed to buy up to 4 million tonnes of LNG a year from Cheniere from the early 2030s through 2054, a sign that even major Gulf exporters are locking in US supply to serve their customers.
In the third quarter, Cheniere exported 188 cargoes of LNG, up 15.3% from a year earlier.
Its LNG revenue rose 41.8% to $6.1 billion in the quarter.
Cheniere expects adjusted core profit to range $8.75 billion to $9.25 billion in 2026, compared with its prior projection of $7.90 billion to $8.40 billion.
It posted net income of $1.17 billion for the quarter ended September 30, compared with $1.05 billion last year.
The company said it had completed the seventh and final train of its Corpus Christi Stage 3 project in Texas in August, adding more than 20% to its LNG production capacity.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
