TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and ASX-listed uranium producer Paladin Energy has reported an adjusted loss of $14.8-million, or $0.01 a share, for the third quarter ended March 31, as an improved performance at its Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia, was undercut by weak sales volumes.

The performance was in line with analyst forecasts. Net profit swung to $3.8-million, or $0.01 a share, compared with a loss of $49.2-million, or $0.02 a share, a year earlier.

Sales revenue of $20.8-million for the period was 22% higher year-on-year, after selling 595 000 lb of uranium oxide (U₃O₈). Langer Heinrich produced 1.3-million pounds of uranium.

The average realised uranium sales price for the quarter was $34.67/lb U₃O₈, compared with the average TradeTech weekly spot price for the quarter of $32.73/lb U₃O₈.

Despite sales being weak, they were expected to be made up in the June quarter with 57% to 69% of expected sales already shipped, the company advised.

Recent opportunistic debt repurchases have strengthened Paladin’s balance sheet and improved its funding flexibility. Discussions regarding a strategic transaction continued to progress, Paladin stated.

The company reported a record low C1 unit cash cost of production of $24.13/lb for the March quarter, compared with guidance of $23/lb to $25/lb, a decrease of 5% from $25.38/lb in the December 2015 quarter.

The underlying all-in cash expenditure per pound of uranium produced for the three months was $31.60/lb, representing a decrease of 33% compared with the all-in cash expenditure for the three months ended March 31, 2015, which was $46.87/lb.

Paladin advised that issues at tailings storage facility No 3 were likely to result in the loss of 150 000 lbs of U₃O₈ output in June.

The Perth, Western Australia-based miner advised that Langer Heinrich was expected to produce about 4.8-million pounds of U₃O₈, 200 000 lbs lower when compared with the previous guidance of 5-million pounds.

The company expected to maintain a weighted average sales price premium to spot of about $4/lb, with Langer Heinrich C1 cash costs expected to range between $24/lb and $26/lb.

The company’s Kayelekera mine, in Malawi, remained on care and maintenance, pending higher uranium prices.