Key Takeaways
New Fortress Energy entered the second half of 2025 under strain: large quarterly losses, volatile operating margins, and heavy leverage set a challenging backdrop. Credit ratings fell into deeper speculative territory as liquidity and refinancing risks grew. To stabilize, the company closed a billion-dollar divestment in Jamaica and announced a multi-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with Puerto Rico that could anchor volumes and cash flow if fully approved. The year’s story is a mix of balance-sheet triage and project-execution bets.
Story & Details
A difficult earnings run
In early September, official filings and press materials showed a second-quarter net loss of roughly half a billion dollars, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) turning negative. The deterioration reflected asset-sale effects, impairments, and weaker contributions from key segments. Earlier, first-quarter results had already flagged pressure across terminals/infrastructure and shipping, with revenue down year over year and a sizeable net loss.
Debt, downgrades, and the cost of time
With long-term debt near the high single-digit billions, ratings agencies cut the company deeper into high-yield territory, citing weak credit metrics, constrained liquidity, and rising refinancing risk. Those moves raise borrowing costs and narrow optionality just as management needs time to complete asset re-mixing and contract ramp-ups. Separately, the company disclosed a Nasdaq notice tied to delayed quarterly filings—an operational headwind that management said it aimed to resolve on schedule.
Selling to breathe: the Jamaica exit
One of the year’s pivotal steps was the sale of Jamaican assets and operations to Excelerate Energy for about $1.055 billion. The company framed the divestment as a way to simplify the portfolio and direct proceeds toward debt reduction. Independent coverage highlighted the assets involved—terminals and a combined-heat-and-power plant—and the strategic intent: shore up liquidity while slimming the footprint.
A new anchor: Puerto Rico’s seven-year LNG deal
In mid-September, Puerto Rico announced a seven-year, roughly $4 billion LNG supply agreement with the company, replacing an earlier, larger concept that never advanced. Public statements referenced pricing formulas linked to Henry Hub and volumes sourced from the Altamira floating liquefaction (FLNG) project in Mexico. The deal requires oversight-board approval, but even the announcement moved markets, underlining how a contracted offtake could steady utilization and cash flow if it proceeds as described.
What to watch next
Three signposts matter: timely financial filings and disclosure cadence; execution at Altamira and other LNG logistics; and the pathway from announced agreements to approved, performing contracts. Together they will shape whether asset sales and new deals simply buy time—or reset the company’s trajectory.
Conclusions
The 2025 picture is stark yet not static. Heavy leverage and negative quarters framed the year, but decisive asset sales and a potential multi-year LNG anchor give the turnaround playbook tangible steps. The path forward depends on crisp execution, transparent reporting, and disciplined capital allocation. If the Puerto Rico agreement clears remaining approvals and operations deliver steady volumes, the company gains room to manage debt and rebuild credibility. If not, the financial squeeze returns quickly. For now, it’s a race to turn announced moves into durable cash flow.
Sources
- New Fortress Energy investor relations — Q2 2025 results press release: https://ir.newfortressenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-fortress-energy-announces-second-quarter-2025-results
- Reuters — Q2 wider loss coverage (September 2025): https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/new-fortress-energy-reports-wider-second-quarter-loss-2025-09-06/
- Reuters — Q1 2025 loss and segment pressure (May 2025): https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/new-fortress-energy-posts-quarterly-loss-all-segments-show-weak-performance-2025-05-14/
- S&P Global Ratings — downgrade to B-/Negative (June 2025): https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3382361
- Moody’s Ratings — rating action (July 2025): https://www.moodys.com/zh-cn/researchandratings/region/north-america/new-york/03F015/005000019001
- New Fortress Energy investor relations — Jamaica sale announcement and closing:
• Announcement (March 2025): https://ir.newfortressenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-fortress-energy-announces-sale-jamaica-assets-operations
• Closing (May 2025): https://ir.newfortressenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-fortress-energy-completes-sale-jamaica-assets-operations - Reuters — initial Jamaica sale coverage: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/new-fortress-energy-sell-jamaica-assets-106-billion-excelerate-energy-2025-03-27/
- Reuters — Nasdaq non-compliance notice (August 2025): https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/new-fortress-energy-discloses-notice-nasdaq-delayed-quarterly-filing-2025-08-22/
- Reuters — Puerto Rico signs seven-year, $4 billion LNG contract (September 2025): https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/puerto-rico-inks-4-billion-lng-contract-with-new-fortress-energy-2025-09-16/
- New Fortress Energy investor relations — Puerto Rico long-term gas supply press release (September 2025): https://ir.newfortressenergy.com/news-releases/news-release-details/new-fortress-energy-reaches-milestone-agreement-long-term-gas
- YouTube (journalistic, public) — CNBC Television interview on exports and projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaD3S_pY7G0
Appendix
Adjusted EBITDA
A common profitability metric that starts with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and removes certain items such as impairments or one-off charges to depict underlying operating performance.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Natural gas cooled to a liquid at about −162 °C to enable storage and long-distance shipping; it is regasified at destination terminals for power generation and industrial use.
Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG)
A seaborne facility that liquefies gas offshore or near-shore, allowing faster deployment than onshore plants; Altamira in Mexico serves as the company’s current FLNG hub.
Speculative-grade ratings (B-/Negative)
Credit ratings in the single-B range indicate high risk relative to investment-grade issuers; a “Negative” outlook signals possible further downgrades if metrics or liquidity worsen.
Nasdaq non-compliance notice
An exchange notice issued when required filings are late; the issuer typically submits a plan and timeline to regain compliance, after which normal listing continues if deadlines are met.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 