Williams Companies beats profit estimates, forecasts higher 2024 core profit
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Williams Companies beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as it benefited from strength in its transmission and Gulf of Mexico unit, and the pipeline operator also forecast a higher core profit for this year.
Williams owns and operates more than 32,000 miles of pipelines system wide including the Transco pipeline.
The United States was the largest exporter of LNG in 2023, with 8.6 million metric tons leaving the country's terminals in December. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects North America's LNG export capacity to increase to 24.3 billion cubic feet per day by end-2027, partially driven by new plants in Mexico and Canada.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company expects 2024 adjusted EBITDA between $6.8 billion and $7.1 billion, up from last year's $6.78 billion.
The company posted an adjusted net income of 48 cents per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, beating analysts' expectations of 46 cents per share, according to LSEG data.
"We expect this strong performance to continue in 2024... paving the way for what we anticipate will be a breakout year in 2025 as several large fee-based projects come online," said Williams CEO Alan Armstrong.
Its transmission and Gulf of Mexico unit posted adjusted earnings of $752 million for the reported quarter, 7.4% higher from a year ago. (Reporting by Roshia Sabu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
