Production at Uranium One up 15 pct but average sales price 11 pct lower

Uranium One, which announced it would be going private in January, attained 12.2 million pounds of U3Oproduction, 15% higher than the 10.7 million pounds produced in 2011.

The company said revenue was a record $562.9 million in 2012, compared to $530.4 million last year. Uranium One (TSE:UUU) was still in the red. The net loss for 2012 was $96.7 million or $0.10 per share, compared to net earnings of $88.4 million or $0.09 per share for 2011. The adjusted net earnings for 2012 were $68.2 million or $0.07 per share, compared to adjusted net earnings of $113.7 million or $0.12 per share for 2011.

The average realized sales price during 2012 was 11% lower, $48 per pound compared to $54 per pound in 2011.

The company wrote down its equity investment in Mantra by $102.3 million in Q4 2012 due to delays in the expected initial production from permitting, increased capital expenditure and lower uranium prices. Mantra Resources is developing an in situ recovery uranium development project located in southern Tanzania.

Uranium One made waves when it announced plans to be taken private by Russian firm JSC Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) for C$1.3 billion, a price that analysts believe is too low.

Uranium One has projects and operations in Kazakhstan, the United States, Australia and Tanzania.

Image of uranium by Marcin Wichary