Uranium One Announces Q1 2015 Production of 3.0 Million Pounds and an Average Total Cash Cost of $14 per Pound Sold

TORONTO, May 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Uranium One Inc. ("Uranium One" or the "Corporation") today reported headline revenues of $57.8 million for Q1 2015. Attributable revenue⁽²⁾ was $77.5 million for Q1 2015, including joint venture revenue, based on sales of 1.7 million pounds of produced material⁽¹⁾ at an average realized sales price of $37 per pound and an average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material⁽²⁾ of $14.

Q1 2015 Highlights

Operational

• Total attributable production⁽¹⁾  during Q1 2015 was 3.0 million pounds, compared with the total attributable production⁽¹⁾  of 3.1 million pounds during Q1 2014.
• The average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material⁽²⁾ was $14 per pound during Q1 2015 compared to $13 per pound for Q1 2014.

Financial

• Attributable sales volumes of produced material⁽¹⁾ for Q1 2015 were 1.7 million pounds sold from the Corporation's operations and joint ventures compared to 3.3 million pounds sold during Q1 2014. The decrease in attributable sales volumes of produced material compared to Q1 2014 is primarily due to the timing of sales to customers, and the remaining unsold Q1 2015 production will be sold in subsequent quarters.
• Headline revenue was $57.8 million in Q1 2015, compared to $69.5 million in Q1 2014.
• Attributable revenues⁽²⁾ consistent with the Corporation's segment reporting, which includes revenues from its interests in joint ventures, amounted to $77.5 million in Q1 2015, compared to $118.0 million in Q1 2014.
• The average realized sales price of produced material⁽²⁾ during Q1 2015 was $37 per pound, compared to $36 per pound in Q1 2014. The average spot price in Q1 2015 was $38 per pound compared to $35 per pound in Q1 2014.
• Gross loss was $1.6 million during Q1 2015, compared to gross profit of $4.9 million in Q1 2014.
• Attributable gross profit⁽²⁾, including the Corporation's share of gross profit from joint ventures, totaled $21.2 million in Q1 2015, a 47% decrease compared to $40.2 million in Q1 2014, primarily due to a decrease of 48% in the sales volume in Q1 2015.
• The net loss for Q1 2015 was $12.3 million or $0.01 per share, compared to net loss of $34.2 million or $0.04 per share for Q1 2014.
• The adjusted net loss⁽²⁾ for Q1 2015 was $19.0 million or $0.02 per share⁽²⁾, compared to adjusted net loss⁽²⁾ of $22.9 million or $0.02 per share⁽²⁾ for Q1 2014.

Corporate

• On April 24, 2015, Feroz Ashraf, the Corporation's former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, was appointed the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Chris Sattler who has left the Corporation to pursue other interests. Mr. Sattler has also resigned from the Board of Directors of the Corporation. Mr. Ashraf has over 35 years experience in the resource sector; prior to joining Uranium One in 2013, he was Executive Vice President of SNC-Lavalin's Global Mining and Metallurgy Division and a member of the Office of President. While at SNC-Lavalin, he was responsible for the worldwide operations of over 6,000 employees and for designing and building projects in over thirty countries and providing services to various domestic and international mining clients.
  
  
• As previously disclosed, in light of the termination of its Canadian statutory reporting obligations, the changes in its Board, further cost rationalization and integration with the Corporation's Moscow-based parent, the Corporation is restructuring the operations of its Toronto head office. The restructuring, which includes the relocation of the head office finance, internal audit, information technology, human resources, technical services and certain legal functions to Moscow and the associated reduction in size of the Toronto office, is planned to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
  
  
• Since March 2014, the United States and Canadian governments and the European Union have implemented a number of orders, directives and regulations in response to the situation in Ukraine. These measures generally impose visa restrictions and asset freezes on certain designated individuals and entities considered to have contributed to the situation in Ukraine, restrict access by certain designated Russian institutions and entities to Western capital markets and prohibit the supply of equipment for use in Russian offshore deepwater, Arctic or shale exploration or production projects. The Corporation's operations have not been impacted by the foregoing orders, directives or regulations or any designations made thereunder and the Corporation continues to carry on business as usual.

Q1 2015 Operations

During Q1 2015, Uranium One achieved total attributable production⁽¹⁾  of 3.0 million pounds, compared with the total attributable production⁽¹⁾  of 3.1 million pounds during Q1 2014.

Operational results for Uranium One's assets during Q1 2015 were:

Q1 2015 Financial Review

Headline revenue was $57.8 million in Q1 2015, compared to $69.5 million in Q1 2014.

Attributable revenues⁽²⁾ consistent with the Corporation's segment reporting, which includes revenues from its interests in joint ventures, amounted to $77.5 million in Q1 2015, compared to $118.0 million in Q1 2014.

The average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material⁽²⁾ was $14 per pound during Q1 2015 compared to $13 per pound for Q1 2014.

Gross loss was $1.6 million during Q1 2015, compared to gross profit of $4.9 million in Q1 2014.

Attributable gross profit⁽²⁾, including the Corporation's share of gross profit from joint ventures, totaled $21.2 million in Q1 2015, a 47% decrease compared to $40.2 million in Q1 2014, primarily due to a decrease of 48% in the sales volume.

The net loss for Q1 2015 was $12.3 million or $0.01 per share, compared to net loss of $34.2 million or $0.04 per share for Q1 2014.

The adjusted net loss⁽²⁾ for Q1 2015 was $19.0 million or $0.02 per share⁽²⁾, compared to an adjusted net loss⁽²⁾ of $22.9 million or $0.02 per share⁽²⁾ for Q1 2014.

Consolidated cash and cash equivalents of $112.8 million (including restricted cash of $16.0 million) as at March 31, 2015 compared to $212.0 million (including restricted cash of $17.5 million) at December 31, 2014. Working capital was $203.3 million at March 31, 2015.

The following table provides a summary of key financial results:

Non-GAAP Measures

The Corporation has included the following non-GAAP performance measures throughout this news release: adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per share, attributable revenues, attributable gross profit, average realized sales price per pound – produced material and average total cash cost per pound sold – produced material. In the uranium mining industry, these performance measures are utilized but do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are non-GAAP measures.

I) Adjusted net earnings (loss)

Adjusted net earnings (loss) and adjusted net earnings (loss) per share do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. The Corporation believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Corporation's performance and ability to generate cash flow. This is provided as additional information and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for, measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Adjusted net earnings (loss) is calculated by adding back restructuring costs, impairments, cost of suspension of operations, gains/losses from the sale of assets, foreign exchange gains/losses, non-hedge derivative gains and losses, one-off or unusual items, items in respect of prior periods and when applicable, the effect of the tax rate adjustment on deferred tax liabilities to net earnings. Corporate development expenditure relates to one-off project costs. These items are added back due to their inherent volatility and/or infrequent occurrence.

The following table provides a reconciliation of adjusted net earnings (loss) to net loss reported for the periods presented:

II) Attributable Revenues and Attributable Gross Profit

The Corporation monitors and evaluates performance of its business by using these additional non-GAAP measures, which are consistent with the results that would be reported under proportionate consolidation accounting.

The Corporation believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, the Corporation and certain investors use this information to evaluate the Corporation's performance and ability to generate cash flow. This is provided as additional information and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. 

Attributable Revenues:

Attributable revenues are determined as shown in Note 14 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2015. This note discloses segmented information which incorporates the revenues of the Corporation under proportionate consolidation. The following table provides a reconciliation of attributable revenues to the revenues reported for the periods presented:

Attributable Gross Profit:

Attributable gross profit is disclosed in the table of uranium sales, inventory and operating costs on pages 26 and 27 of the Operating and Financial Review. The following table provides a reconciliation of attributable gross profit to the gross profit reported for the periods presented:

III) Average realized sales price per pound of produced material and average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material

The Corporation has included the following non-GAAP performance measures throughout this news release: average realized sales price per pound of produced material and average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material. The Corporation reports total cash costs on a sales basis. In the uranium mining industry, these are common performance measures but do not have any standardized meaning, and are non-GAAP measures. The Corporation believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, the Corporation and certain investors use this information to evaluate the Corporation's performance and ability to generate cash flow. This is provided as additional information and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for, measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

As in previous periods, average realized sales price per pound of produced material and average total cash cost per pound sold of produced material are calculated as follows:

The financial statements, as well as the accompanying Operating and Financial Review, are available for review at www.uranium1.com and should be read in conjunction with this news release. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. All references to pounds sold or pounds purchased are to pounds of U₃O₈.

About Uranium One

Uranium One is one of the world's largest uranium producers with a globally diversified portfolio of assets located in Kazakhstan, the United States, Australia and Tanzania. ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation, through its affiliates, owns 100% of the outstanding common shares of Uranium One.

For further information about Uranium One, please visit www.uranium1.com

Cautionary Statements

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Scientific and technical information contained herein has been reviewed on behalf of the Corporation by Mr. M.H.G. Heyns, Pr.Sci.Nat. (SACNASP), MSAIMM, MGSSA, Senior Vice President, New Business and Technical Services of the Corporation, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

Readers are advised to refer to independent technical reports for detailed information on the Corporation's material properties. Those technical reports, which are available at www.sedar.com under Uranium One's profile, provide the date of each resource or reserve estimate, details of the key assumptions, methods and parameters used in the estimates, details of quality and grade or quality of each resource or reserve and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimate may be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The technical reports also provide information with respect to data verification in the estimation.

Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to those with respect to, the price of uranium, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, currency fluctuations, market conditions, corporate plans, objectives and goals, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, the timing and potential effects of proposed transactions, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the possibility of sanctions that may be imposed on the Corporation, its shareholders, affiliates or third parties with which the Corporation deals, that may have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's ability to carry on its business or perform its contractual obligations, the future steady state production and cash costs of Uranium One,  the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, possible variations in grade and ore densities or recovery rates, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, possible changes to the tax code in Kazakhstan, accidents, labour disputes or other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining government approvals or financing or in completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to the completion of transactions, integration of acquisitions and the realization of synergies relating thereto, to international operations, to prices of uranium as well as those factors referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Uranium One's Operating and Financial Review for the year ended December 31, 2014. Although Uranium One has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Uranium One expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except  as required under applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Uranium One Inc.