- Uranium giant, Cameco (TSX:CCO) has reported a net loss of C$19 million in the first three months of 2020, and is facing severe operational disruptions due to COVID-19
- However, the company stated the net loss was not a result of pandemic but was instead caused by normal quarterly variations
- The COVID-19 crisis has caused the temporary suspension of the company’s Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan, as well as a four-week operational halt at The Port Hope Conversion Plant and the accompanying Blind River refinery
- Cameco remains optimistic, despite the closures, considering uranium’s strong performance in recent weeks
- Cameco (CCO) is up 1.45 per cent, with shares trading for $14.12 and a market cap of $5.53 billion
Uranium giant, Cameco (TSX:CCO) has reported a net loss of C$19 million in its first quarter and is facing severe operational disruptions due to COVID-19.
However, the company stated the net loss was not a result of COVID-19 but was instead caused by normal quarterly variations. This is likely, as the company reported a similar loss of $18 million in 2019’s same quarter.
Earlier in the year, provincial quarantine measures forced to suspend operations at the Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan. Cigar Lake is the world largest uranium deposit and its closure has impacted the overall global resource supply.
The company has also temporarily suspended operations at the its Port Hope Conversion Plant and the accompanying Blind River refinery for four weeks.
In the face of the closures, the company remains optimistic about the uranium market’s future.
As more and more companies are forced to suspend or curtail uranium production around the world, the value of the resource has begun moving upwards in recent weeks. Whether this improved uranium price will remain after the suspension subsidies, remains unclear.
Since the company suspended operations at Cigar Lake toward the end of March, the price of uranium has kept of 35 per cent.
Tim Gitzel, President and CEO of Cameco, said the company is navigating unprecedented times.
“Despite the disruptions to our operations as a result of COVID-19 and the prudent decisions we have made, we expect our business to be resilient.
“We will continue to provide the fuel required to power the nuclear reactors that will be part of the critical infrastructure needed to ensure hospitals, care facilities and other essential services are available during this pandemic,” he said.
Tim concluded by drawing attention to the company’s $1.2 billion in cash, as evidence for its resilience, during these challenging times.
Cameco (CCO) is up 1.45 per cent, with shares trading for $14.12 at 10:48am EDT.
