Editor’s Note: With so much market volatility, stay on top of daily news! Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today’s must-read news and expert opinions. Sign up here!
(Wallace Refiners) – Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of uranium, reported today that the company’s total comprehensive income for Q1 2021 was 6.1 billion Kazakhstani tenge (~$14 million), a 79% decline compared to Q1 2020 (29.6 billion tenge or ~$70 million).
Earnings per share attributable to the owners of the company were 13 tenge, an 87% decline compared to Q1 2020 (101 tenge). The company indicated that its financial performance deteriorated in Q1 2021 due to lower revenue, increased cost of sales and gain from disposal of joint venture recorded in Q1 2020.
Kazatomprom added it remains a financially stable company with more than 424 billion tenge of net current assets including over 176 billion tenge in cash and cash equivalents, a low level of borrowings and more than 247 billion tenge ($581 million) of undrawn bank credit lines.
The uranium spot price, which acts as a base for the pricing of the company’s sales decreased by almost 10% from the beginning of the year to mid-March 2021, and after the revival of activity by a number of market participants in the second half of March, the spot price settled at $30.58 per pound of U3O8 at 31 March 2021 ($30.20 on 31 December 2020).
Kazatomprom is the world’s largest producer of uranium, with the company’s attributable production representing approximately 23% of global primary uranium production in 2020. The group benefits from the largest reserve base in the industry and operates, through its subsidiaries, JVs and Associates, 26 deposits grouped into 14 mining assets. All of the company’s mining operations are located in Kazakhstan and mined using in-situ recovery technology.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Wallace Precious Metals The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Wallace Precious Metals nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Wallace Precious Metals and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
