Business
Cameco Reports Fourth Quarter and 2016 Financial Results
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - Feb. 9, 2017) - ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN CDN $ (UNLESS NOTED) Cameco (TSX:CCO)(NYSE:CCJ) today reported its
About this update from Cameco Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - Feb. 9, 2017) - ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN CDN $ (UNLESS NOTED) Cameco (TSX:CCO)(NYSE:CCJ) today reported its consolidated financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). \"The past year proved to be another difficult period for the uranium market,\" said president and CEO, Tim Gitzel. \"However, despite the uranium spot price hitting a 12-year low, the performance of our core business - uranium - was solid, and in line with our outlook.\" \"Our uranium segment remained strong and drove over 90% of our 2016 gross profit, although our earnings reflect the consequences of a weak uranium market and our resolve to take the necessary steps to strengthen our core business. While we expect those steps to benefit our performance over time, they involved up-front costs, which impacted our results. In the current market environment, it can be difficult to see beyond the weakness that has persisted for almost six years. However, as we look to the future, we see continued growth in reactor construction and, consequently, increasing uranium demand. We believe that with our focus on value and our tier-one assets, we are well positioned to seize that demand.\" Summary of 2016 results and developments: Net loss of $62 million largely due to impairment charges of $362 million; adjusted net earnings $143 million: Strategic changes and market weakness impacted our 2016 financial results: We recognized an impairment charge for the full carrying value of Rabbit Lake ($124 million -second quarter) and the full carrying value of our interest in Kintyre ($238 million - fourth quarter). We incurred costs related to the suspension of production at our Rabbit Lake operation, curtailment of production at Cameco Resources' US ISR operations and the corresponding reduction of the workforce at these sites and at our corporate office. Core uranium business continued to outperform market: We delivered on our annual outlook with an average realized price in our uranium segment that was 60% higher than the average spot price for the year. Contract portfolio optimization: We continue to work with certain customers to optimize the value of our existing contract portfolio, converting their future uncertainty ...