Williams Cos. had such a strong first quarter 2024, that it saw an 8% growth compared to the first quarter of 2023.
The Tulsa-based company had adjusted EBITDA of $1.934 billion over the $1.795 billion recorded in the first quarter of last year.
Earnings per share grew 5% from 56 cents last year to 59 cents in the just-completed first quarter.
Available funds from operations grew 4% from $1.445 billion last year to $1.507 billion this year.
Williams credited the higher earnings due to Gulf Coast Storage and MountainWest acquisitions, expansions and favorable segment costs for Transco as well as the company’s divestiture of Bayou Ethane. Further, the company said increased earnings were driven by DJ Basin acquisitions.
Williams recently closed on the acquisition of 6 storage facilities with a total capacity of 115 Bcf across Louisiana and Mississippi. It said the facilities are strategically located to sere growing LNG and power generation demand.
Company leaders believe they’re sitting in a strong position because a growing electricity demand across the U.S. will require additional backup generation. They indicated in their quarterly report that electrication of heating and transport, data centers and AI-driven future will create growth in power demand not seen in past two decades.
Their report cited the electricity demand is 3 times this decade of what it was in the previous decade and it is being driven by EV growth and the emergence of large load data centers.
But Williams also believes there are some serious challenges ahead in the natural gas industry. Demand for natural gas has grown 43% since 2013 while the infrastructure to deliver the gas gained only 25% and storage delivery capacity increased only 2%.