World's top uranium producer cuts next year's production target

By Christian Moess Laursen

Kazatomprom, the world's top uranium producer, booked a jump in net profit for the first half of the year on higher market prices for the heavy metal, while it cut its production target for the next year as construction woes continue.

The Kazakhstan state-owned miner (UK:KAP) said Friday that its net profit rose 27% to 283.2 billion Kazakhstani tenge ($590.1 million), driven by a rise in selling prices for the metal that powers nuclear reactors, which also drove a 13% increase in revenue to 701.1 billion tenge.

Uranium prices have soared this year as nuclear energy emerged as a twin solution to both energy security concerns and decarbonization ambitions as well as on tight supply. Spot prices currently sit at nearly $80 a pound, having hit a 16-year high back in January.

However, Kazatomprom's costs of sales also rose significantly, 38% to 443.36 billion tenge, due to higher production volumes and increasing cost of uranium bought at joint-ventures and associates, resulting in a 10% decline in operating profit to 226.72 billion tenge.

Kazatomprom once again warned of continuing delays to construction at new deposits and scarcity in attaining sulfuric acid, which is used to leach uranium from underground deposits.

This led the miner to cut next year's production outlook to between 25,000 and 26,500 metric tons of uranium, down from 30,500-31,500 tons previously. Earlier this month, it increased its targets for this year to 22,500-23,500 tons.

The company also announced the resignation of its Chief Financial Officer Sultan Temirbayev, who stepped down on Aug 19 after a year in the role. He will be succeeded by Marat Tulebayev, a former long-time employee who most recently was chief executive officer of Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund.

Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-23-24 0336ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.