Williams reports Q1 adjusted EPS 56c, consensus 46c

Reports Q1 revenue $3.08B, consensus $2.63B. Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer, made the following comments: "Williams experienced record natural gas gathering volumes and contracted capacity in the first quarter, driving higher earnings across all four core business segments compared to first quarter 2022, with Adjusted EBITDA up nearly 20 percent. These results proved without question that our core business is performing as designed amid volatile price cycles. Our fee-based revenues continued to grow even without including the strong contributions from recent acquisitions. We saw very high gas prices at Opal in the first quarter, which caused negative NGL margins, but the integration of our Sequent marketing business turned this into a positive outcome for Williams, demonstrating our ability to capitalize on volatility. We remain squarely focused on our natural gas-focused strategy as we execute a robust list of fully contracted projects within our footprint that will contribute to our long-term adjusted EBITDA growth rate target of 5 to 7 percent. Regional Energy Access, which we expect to start bringing into service ahead of schedule this year, will unlock more of our Northeast gas gathering and processing volumes to serve nearby markets. In addition, the integration of our recent MountainWest acquisition bolsters our position in the Rockies with stable, FERC-regulated natural gas transmission and storage infrastructure." Armstrong added, "Williams is making strides to serve both domestic and global energy demand in a lower-carbon and sustainable manner. We were the first major U.S. midstream company to join OGMP 2.0, and we were among the first to invest in and deploy satellite technology to monitor the methane performance of our assets as part of our growing NextGen Gas strategy. It’s certainly an exciting time to be at Williams, and I’m proud of all that our employees are doing across the enterprise to make Williams a leader in the responsible energy market."