Key points:
- Cameco reports fourth-quarter earnings
- Earnings and revenue beat analyst expectations
- Cameco shares rise 3.5% premarket
- The Best Uranium Mining Stock to Buy
Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) announced earnings per share of $0.06before the bell on Wednesday, with revenue coming in at $465 million.
The numbers reported were against an anticipated EPS of $0.05 and revenue of $331.75 million.
The company said its Q4 results were driven by normal quarterly variations in contract deliveries and the continued execution of its strategy.
Commenting on the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said that as a result of a four-month precautionary production suspension at its Cigar Lake operation, in its uranium segment, they produced only 6.1 million pounds of uranium in 2021, well below its committed sales.
Also Read: The Best Uranium Stock to Buy
Additionally, Cameco incurred $40 million more in care and maintenance costs than those it had planned. However, this was partially offset by the receipt of about $21 million under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.
In reaction to the report, Cameco's share price has risen 3.58% to $20.55.
“Our results reflect the very deliberate execution of our strategy of full-cycle value capture. We have been undertaking work to ensure we have operational flexibility, we are aligning our production decisions with the market fundamentals and our contracting portfolio, and we have been financially disciplined,” said Tim Gitzel, Cameco's president and CEO.
“Since 2016, with our planned and unplanned production cuts, inventory reduction and market purchases, we have removed more than 190 million pounds of uranium from the market, which we believe has contributed to the security of supply concerns in our industry,” he added.
The company announced it will pay an annual dividend of $0.12 per share in December.
