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TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian uranium producer Cameco on Wednesday reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter results to shareholders, as labour and operational issues at two of its significant mines impacted on output and prompted the company's TSX-listed stock to trend lower.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based company announced net losses attributable for the period ended September 30 of C$146-million, or C$0.37 a share, compared with net earnings of C$211-million, or C$0.53 a share, in the third quarter of 2013.
The net loss was mainly owing to the company booking a C$184-million impairment on its investment in GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment.
Excluding special items, adjusted net earnings for the quarter were C$93-million, or C$0.23 a share, compared with C$208-million, or C$0.53 a share, a year earlier.
Bay Street analysts had, on average, expected earnings of C$0.23 a share on revenue of C$636.57-million.
Cameco reported a 2% year-on-year decline in consolidated revenues to C$587-million, down from C$597-million a year earlier.
Uranium sales rose 6% year-on-year to nine-million pounds, up from 8.5-million pounds a year earlier; however, the company's average realised uranium price dropped 10% to $45.87/lb from $50.73/lb in the same quarter a year earlier.
Cameco warned that it now expected full-year consolidated revenue to decrease by up to 5%, mainly owing to a decrease in its expected sales and revenue outlook for Germany-based subsidiary NUKEM, as a result of ongoing uranium market weakness.
The uranium producer had also lowered its output outlook to between 22.6-million pounds and 22.8-million pounds of uranium, down from between 22.8-million pounds and 23.3-million pounds, to reflect the impact of the labour disruption at the McArthur River and Key Lake operations, as well as lower-than-expected uranium output from the Cigar Lake mine and the McClean Lake mill.
The world’s biggest uranium mine, McArthur River, was closed for two weeks during August and September, owing to an employee lockout. Cameco had also resumed jet-bore mining at Cigar Lake in the first week of September, after suspending operations in July to allow the orebody to freeze more thoroughly in certain areas.
Cameco noted that the uranium market in the third quarter showed no fundamental change from the first half of the year, remaining in a state of surplus supply as a result of factors such as the lack of reactor restarts in Japan.
In the long term, the company said the outlook remained positive, as nuclear growth continued around the world. About 70 new reactors were under construction and more were planned.
Cameco’s stock fell by as much as 6% on Wednesday and changed hands at around C$18.91 apiece in early afternoon trading.