LNG

Chart Industries Inc., the US equipment-maker for the liquefied natural gas and other clean energy and industrial gases markets, said global end-market demand continued to be strong in 2024.

Chart Industries Inc., the liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and industrial gas and energy technology company, posted solid third-quarter results including record operating income and backlog of orders.

Chart Industries Inc., the liquefied natural gas equipment-maker and industrial gas technology company, reported first-quarter 2022 all-time record orders of $636.8 million, its fourth record-order quarter out of the past five quarters.

Chart Industries, the US supplier of LNG equipment and developer of clean energy pathways, has posted its third consecutive quarter of record orders, taking the backlog to more than $1 billion.

Chart Industries, the US LNG equipment and industrial gases company, reported record first quarter orders, contributing to the highest backlog of $934.1M and including orders with 105 new customers with LNG at front and centre.

Orders in the first three months of 2021 amounted to $417.2M and were the highest in the history of the Atlantic, Georgia-based company when excluding Big LNG.

Chart reported net income of $26.1M in the quarter to the end of March, a three-fold increase on the $8.5M posted in the first three months of 2020.

The company said 2021 orders were driven by broad based demand, including a recovery in certain end markets, continued demand for clean products and a combination of larger liquefaction orders for LNG and hydrogen or numerous smaller orders.

Chart posted quarterly sales of $288.5M, in line expectations when considering typical seasonality as well as the timing shift from the first quarter 2021 to the second quarter 2021 of approximately $10M of shipments.

ISO containers

These were primarily ISO container orders from China that were shipped in March 2021, though the revenue is recognized in April 2021, as well as $5M of revenue from the Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG project in Louisiana based on the delivery schedule.

The quarterly sales were 4.5 percent lower than the $301.9M achieved in the prior-year quarter.

“Record orders (excluding Big LNG) across the broader business in the first quarter 2021, coupled with continued execution on profitability set us up early (and often) for a very strong second half of 2021,” stated Jill Evanko, Chart’s Chief Executive and President.

“We are seeing immediate benefit from our strategic inorganic investments in the order book as reflected in our record backlog, and the momentum in the clean revolution - clean energy, clean water, clean food and clean industrial - is just getting started,” added Evanko.

Chart noted among the earnings highlights the $47M order from New Fortress Energy, the LNG-for-power company based in New York, for its “Fast LNG” project, a 1.4 million tonnes per annum liquefier vessel.

Chart additionally commented on the expansion of LNG fuel for trucking in Europe and Asia and the subsequent demand for Chart equipment.

LNG for trucks

“Since January 2021, night-time transit for diesel Euro IV trucks on the Inntal motorway in Austria is not allowed, so LNG trucks allow business owners to continue to transport goods overnight,” explained Chart.

“For example, OMV Turkey is using LNG trucks (with Chart fuel tanks) and there is increasing activity for LNG trucks and buses in locations such as Japan and India,” added the company.

Chart said full-year 2021 sales were expected to be around $1.36 billion to $1.41Bln, inclusive of $21M of Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass revenue ($5M of equipment remaining to ship) as well as $30M of expected 2021 revenue from the acquisition of Cryo Technologies.

This is an increase over the prior full year 2021 sales guidance of $1.32Bln to $1.38Bln as a result  of the strong first-quarter order book.

This includes specific liquefaction projects for Plug Power (hydrogen) and New Fortress Energy (FastLNG) and commercial opportunities increasing from investments and acquisitions completed in the past six months.

“There is no additional Big LNG revenue included in our outlook although we believe at least one new order will be received during the year,” added Chart. 

US LNG-equipment maker and industrial gases company Chart Industries reported increases in quarterly and annual net profits and logged a record number of new customers.

Chart booked orders with 65 new customers in the final three months of 2020, resulting in record full-year 2020 new customers of 472, of which 109 were in Specialty division.

The company also completed four acquisitions outside the LNG sector related to carbon capture, water treatment and hydrogen as well as making a $15 million investment in carbon-capture company Svante on February 2021.

It additionally acquired Cryo Technologies on February 16, 2021 adding proven hydrogen and helium liquefaction to its portfolio, expanding into specialty markets of $5.75 billion potential.

Chart reported fourth-quarter net income of $269.8M compared with $12.5M in the prior-year quarter.

Chart’s annual profits amounted to $320.1M versus $46.4M in 2019.

“While hydrogen, biogas and carbon capture are the hottest topics right now, LNG is still extremely active, particularly as the cost fundamentals are competitive and infrastructure continues to be built worldwide,” stated Chart.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based company noted that at the end of December 2020, the Government of India stated that there were plans to create a gas infrastructure in India with an investment of $60Bln over the next four years, inclusive of LNG terminals.

“India is just one region where LNG continues to be a good answer for a cost competitive, scalable step in the energy transition,” stated Chart.

The company expects fueling stations and HLNG vehicle tanks for onboard heavy duty trucks to continue around or above 2020 levels throughout 2021, and also expects two small-scale LNG terminals and mid-scale LNG projects to move ahead with final investment decision in 2021.

Chart recorded a full-year record for fueling station orders of 71 stations, up 18.3 percent over 2019.

“The fourth quarter of 2020 capped a strong year in unprecedented times, thanks to the entire Chart team,” said Jill Evanko, Chart’s Chief Executive and President.

“In 2020, we made significant progress in penetrating the global high growth markets of clean energy, specialty and repair and service as evidenced by 472 new customers and 33 long-term agreements,” added Evanko.

“The combination of strong free cash flow, strategic investments, record backlog and operational execution resulted in multiple full year 2020 and fourth quarter 2020 records,” stated the CEO.

“More importantly, the performance puts us in position to make 2021 a breakthrough year for our business as we serve our global energy and industrial gas customers’ growing and changing needs,” said Evanko.

Chart generated $60.2 of net cash provided by operating activities, resulting in $49.6M of free cash flow, the second highest cash flow quarter in the company’s history.

“Hydrogen continues to be our hottest specialty market, with record orders ($38M) and backlog ($39M) in 2020,” said Chart.

“We expect over 70 percent in hydrogen sales growth in 2021 when compared to 2020,” it added.

“We have completed a memorandum of understanding with Matrix Service Company for standardized small-scale hydrogen offerings and a joint development agreement with Ballard Power Systems to jointly develop integrated system solutions,” explained Chart.

“This includes a fuel cell engine with onboard liquid hydrogen storage and vaporization for the transportation industry, with a focus on heavy-duty applications including buses, trucks, rail and marine vessels,” the company stated.

Chart Industries, the US supplier of equipment for the industrial gas, energy and liquefied natural gas sectors, reported an almost 24 percent rise in orders to a record $1.41 billion combining LNG fuel, rail, trucking and plant equipment.