ADNOC Gas Doubles Quarterly Profit to $1.34 Billion and Raises 2026 Guidance

The Abu Dhabi-listed gas processor now expects 2026 net income of at least $4 billion, up from an earlier range of $3.5 billion to $4 billion, according to results published on November 10. The company said the outlook remains subject to regional maritime conditions. Net income in the second quarter was $665 million, and in August the company had guided to $600 million to $800 million for the third quarter on the assumption that shipping disruption would continue.

The numbers are a direct read on how much UAE gas trade is getting through a waterway that has been under attack since the US-Iran war began on February 28. ADNOC Gas is also the largest dividend payer on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which makes its cash flow a matter for a wide base of local and foreign investors. The quarter's profit is roughly level with the $1.34 billion the company earned in the third quarter of 2025, before the war.

EBITDA rose 70% from the second quarter to $2.03 billion. Domestic gas sales volumes rose 20% to 513 TBTU and domestic gas EBITDA climbed 28% to $878 million, according to figures given on the earnings call. Export volumes rose 72% to 235 TBTU, and EBITDA from international product sales more than doubled, up 106% to $906 million. Sulphur EBITDA jumped 249%, with prices averaging about $1,000 a tonne in the quarter. Revenue of $4.38 billion came in below the $4.52 billion analysts had expected, Investing.com reported.

Exports Through Hormuz

Chief financial officer Peter van Driel told analysts that the number of loaded vessels more than doubled from the second quarter and that cargo movements had recovered to 88% of 2025 levels by September. He said October had been a good month but declined to forecast how traffic would develop, describing passage through the strait as "start, stop, start, stop." He added that nothing had been decided or committed on a possible LNG facility at Fujairah, which would allow exports to avoid Hormuz altogether.

Chief executive Fatema Al Nuaimi said "strong execution across the business has been the key driver" of the results, which came "despite continued challenging external conditions." On the call she said about 90% of the volume from the Ruwais LNG project, where the first two main refrigeration compressor trains have been installed, was already committed. The company has signed a five-year agreement with TotalEnergies to supply up to 1.6 million tonnes a year of LNG.

Restoration of the damaged Habshan complex is on plan, with full capacity expected by the second quarter of 2027, the company said. It also pointed to AI-powered control rooms at Bu Hasa and Taweelah, supported by autonomous inspection robots, and is targeting more than $900 million in value from those initiatives by 2030.

Dividend and Borrowing Plans

The board approved a $940 million dividend payable in December, 5% more than a year earlier, in line with a target of 5% annual dividend growth through 2030. Operating cash flow for the first nine months was $3.82 billion, against $2.82 billion of dividends paid, and the company ended the quarter with net cash of $1.2 billion.

Capital spending guidance for 2026 is unchanged at about $5 billion, of which $3.7 billion had been spent by the end of September. Van Driel said ADNOC Gas plans to draw a $4 billion credit facility, possibly in late 2026 or early 2027, to fund growth projects, and that debt would rise in step with spending. The company plans about $28 billion of investment from 2026 to 2030 and is targeting EBITDA growth of more than 60% by 2030 compared with 2023, assuming Brent at $70 a barrel.

Van Driel said the fundamentals the company had shown were "not necessarily reflected in the share price," which he attributed to the regional conflict and funds cutting risk. Guidance for 2027 will come with fourth-quarter results.