Centrus earnings decrease in second quarter but increase in HALEU revenue

Earnings fell at Centrus Energy, based in Bethesda, Maryland, in the second quarter, which the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer attributed to a decrease in the volume of uranium sold.

Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were $28.9 million, or $1.59 a diluted share, down from $30.6 million, or $1.89 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was $154.5 million, down year-over-year from $189 million.

The revenue from its low-enriched uranium (LEU) segment, which includes uranium fuel and natural uranium sales, was $125.7 million, down from $169.6 million a year ago, due to the decrease in the volume of uranium sold and the “absence of any sales from uranium during the period,” Centrus senior financial officer Kevin Harrill said in Wednesday’s earnings call.

Harrill could not expand on the absence of uranium sales, or if there would be more sales in the following two quarters, when asked by an analyst.

Revenue from its Technical Solutions segment, the enrichment-technology business with high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) enrichment and deconversion contracts with the Department of Energy, was actually up $9.4 million from a year ago, at $28.8 million from $19.4 million. The company’s earnings report attributed the increase in the segment to a $9.1 million increase in revenue from the HALEU Operation Contract signed in 2022, while the other $300,000 came from an increase from “other contracts.”

“From a quarterly perspective, you will see variability, but we are on target with regards to our own internal annual outlook,” Harrill said.

When asked on the earnings call by an analyst if the Donald Trump administration’s executive orders pertaining to nuclear would help fund Centrus’s expansion, CEO Amir Vexler hedged. 

“I will say that the executive orders, as you pointed out, are a strong, strong support for what we do, not only for the industry, but specifically for nuclear fuel,” Vexler added.

Centrus has now achieved phase two of its DOE contract, which called for it to produce the 900 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) by June 30, the press release said. The company now moves into phase three, which includes options for eight years of additional production beyond June 30, 2026.

Centrus in June was awarded an extension of its contract to produce HALEU up to June 30, 2026.The company’s advanced centrifuges at the DOE Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio came online in 2023. 

HALEU, which is uranium enriched between 5% and 20%, is considered a safe and secure way to power nuclear reactors.