Earnings rose at Centrus Energy, based in Bethesda, Md., in the third quarter, which the uranium broker and enrichment developer attributed to an increase in the volume of uranium sold.
Net earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were $3.9 million, or $0.19 a diluted share, up from a net loss of $5 million or $0.30 a diluted share in the year-ago quarter.
Centrus’s quarterly revenue was $74.9 million, up year-over-year from $57.7 million a year ago.
The revenue from its low-enriched uranium (LEU) segment was $44.8 million, up from $34.8 million a year ago. The segment’s uranium revenue was $34.1 million, while its separative work units (SWU) total was $10.7 million.
The revenue for SWU decreased by $24.1 million from last year’s quarter as a result of a 69% decrease in average price of SWU sold, according to its Wednesday Securities and Exchange Commission 8-K filing.
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 up $7.2 million from last year, at $30.1 million, up from $22.9 million.
Centrus said it primarily attributed the increased revenue of its technical solutions segment to its HALEU Operation Contract that was signed in 2022, while the remaining change is related to other contracts.
In September, the company announced plans of expanding its enrichment facility at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio.
When asked by an analyst on the company’s readiness efforts for the Piketon expansion, Amir Vexler, Centrus president and CEO, said during Thursday’s earnings call that the efforts are “taking shape and they’re taking shape fast”.
Centrus has invested in the planned plant’s expansion, Vexler said. Prep work includes studies of its production cycle time analysis and other steps needed for a plant buildout
Centrus is still waiting on the public investment side of the expansion, Vexler said.
Also in August, Centrus entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Korean companies Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and POSCO International to potentially invest into Centrus’ uranium enrichment facilities in Piketon, Ohio.
While the MOU is non-binding, the calls for the three companies to partner up to explore additional opportunities such as supply agreements for LEU and HALEU for future reactors.