12 May 2010 12:34

TVEL reduces earnings 70% to 9 bln rubles in 2009

MOSCOW. May 12 (Interfax) - OJSC TVEL reduced net profit 69.7% in 2009 to 9 billion rubles, the nuclear fuel corporation said in a press release.

Earnings in 2008 were as high as 29.9 billion rubles because they included 23.374 billion rubles income from dealings in shares in its own upstream assets after it was decided that the state-owned Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ) would consolidate Russia's uranium mining assets. Net profit not adjusted for this amount would have gone up 37.7% last year, TVEL said.

Sales revenue grew 12.1% last year to 58.264 billion rubles on the back of 31.6% growth in sales of fuel assemblies for Russian nuclear power plants and 13% growth in sales to nuclear plants abroad.

Fuel assemblies sold in Russia accounted for 41% of overall sales in 2009 and sales to other countries for 59%.

Profit before tax shrank nearly two-thirds last year to 11.36 billion rubles.

TVEL controls an estimated 17% of the world nuclear power plant fuel market. It is controlled by the state-owned Atomenergoprom.