Natural gas production and developing plans to export liquefied U.S. natural gas are driving record growth and revenues at Chart Industries.
View full sizeChart Industries of Garfield Heights is a global manufacturer of engineered equipment used to rapidly cool gases, including natural gas, to sub-zero temperatures. Chart earlier this year built the "cold box" (large white structure shown here) for an Angolan liquid natural gas project on the West Coast of Africa. GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Global interest in liquefying natural gas is good news for Chart Industries, based in Garfield Heights.
Chart is a global manufacturer of engineered equipment for the production, storage and use of hydrocarbon and industrial gases.
Demand for equipment to make liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has shown strong growth here and globally, the company said.
On Thursday, the company reported robust sales and net profits for the quarter and said year-to-date orders of $804 million put it on track to set an annual record.
For the third quarter ending Sept. 30, Chart reported net sales of $211.3 million -- up 52 percent from the $139.2 million for the same time period in 2010.
Net income for the third quarter was $17.5 million, of 59 cents per share - up 165 percent from third quarter 2010 net profits of $6.6 million, or 23 cents per share.
Sam Thomas, Chart's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the company "has seen record orders year to date, and we continue to seek and expect to capture high growth opportunities in the immediate future."
Despite the uncertainty about global economic growth, Thomas said the company's underlying business has remained strong "with continued growth in LNG applications."
"Similar to the demand we are seeing in China and elsewhere, the political and economic environment for expanded natural gas use in North America continues to develop favorably," he said.
"Recent announcements of new investments in domestic LNG infrastructure by major natural gas producers and equipment providers have validated our expectations," he said. "To meet customer demand, we recently announced the expansion of manufacturing capacity in the upper Midwest to address the substantial increase in LNG demand."