Cheniere Energy's profits soared almost sevenfold in the first quarter, driven by higher liquefied gas cargoes from its Sabine Pass LNG terminal.

The Houston gas exporter posted on Friday record net income of $357 million, or $1.52 per share, in the first quarter, up from $$54 million, or 23 cents a share, in the first three months of last year. Revenue jumped from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.

Overall, Cheniere's LNG cargos headed to overseas buyers increased to 67 in the first quarter, up from 43 in the same period last year. And volumes rose 61 percent to 244 trillion British thermal units.

Cheniere had brought more super-cooling natural gas facilities into production at its export terminal in Sabine Pass. It has four operational LNG trains there, is building another and gathering cargo agreements to support a sixth.

"Solid LNG market fundamentals and the strategic positioning of our world-class LNG platform reinforce my confidence in our long-term growth prospects," Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said in a statement.