Exhibit 99.1
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TSX: CCO NYSE: CCJ | | ![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/6-K/0001193125-21-312347/g219648g1029042059671.jpg) | | website: cameco.com currency: Cdn (unless noted) |
2121 – 11th Street West, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7M 1J3 Canada
Tel: 306-956-6200 Fax: 306-956-6201
Cameco reports third quarter results and the continued execution of its strategy to support global clean-air transition
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, October 29, 2021 .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .
Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) today reported its consolidated financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
“Our third quarter results were as expected and reflect the continued execution of our strategy and the proactive decisions to suspend production to protect the health and safety of our workers, their families and their communities,” said Tim Gitzel, Cameco’s president and CEO. “With McArthur River and Key Lake in care and maintenance, we are not at the regular tier-one run rate of our business. However, we are positioning to capture long-term value: to respond to the growing need for uranium to generate safe, clean, reliable, and affordable electricity.
“The recent increase in the uranium spot price – about 46% since the end of June, demonstrates the thinning of uncommitted primary supply as unexpected demand from junior uranium companies and financials has led to increased liquidity and better price discovery, a welcome development. As a result, we are beginning to see utility interest in on-market contract activity as their focus shifts to securing material for their uncovered requirements, which has resulted in an increase of almost 28% in the long-term price since the end of June as well. Increasing uranium prices are positive for us. Over time, the market exposure in our contract portfolio will pick up the benefit of rising prices and we will be layering in new contracts with pricing mechanisms that will underpin the long-term operation of our productive capacity. This is why we remain committed to our strategy. We have taken our production well below our sales commitments and will continue to align our production decisions with the market fundamentals, we will continue to be strategically patient with contracting, and we will continue to conservatively manage our balance sheet.
“Thanks to the deliberate actions we have taken, we have the financial strength to support our strategy and allow us to self-manage risk. Again, we ended the quarter with negative net debt, we had about $1.4 billion in cash compared to our long-term debt of $1 billion.
“Our strategy has positioned us well to take advantage of the positive long-term fundamentals for nuclear power. Globally, we see demand for both traditional and non-traditional uses of nuclear power growing as the increasing focus on electrification while phasing out carbon intensive sources of energy continues to take hold.
“Our vision of ‘energizing a clean-air world’ recognizes that we have an important role to play in enabling the vast reductions in greenhouse gas emissions required to accomplish the targets being set by countries and companies around the world to achieve a resilient, net-zero carbon economy. We have operating and idle tier-one assets that are licensed, permitted, long-lived, and are proven reliable that have expansion capacity. These tier-one assets are backed up by idle tier-two assets and what we think is the best exploration portfolio that leverages existing infrastructure. We are vertically integrated across the nuclear fuel cycle. We have locked in significant value for our fuel services segment of our business in the recent price transition in the conversion market and we are exploring opportunities to further our reach in the nuclear fuel cycle and in innovative, non-traditional commercial uses of nuclear power in Canada and around the world.
“We are optimistic about Cameco’s role in capturing long-term value across the fuel chain and supporting the transition to a net-zero carbon economy. We believe we have the right strategy to achieve our vision and we will do so in a manner that reflects our values. For over 30 years, we have been delivering our products responsibly. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. Embedded in all our decisions is a commitment to addressing the environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities that we believe will make our business sustainable over the long term.”
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