Profit at nuclear enrichment company USEC nearly doubles in 4Q on settlement of trade dispute

USEC 4Q profit nearly doubles on settlement

BETHESDA, Md. — USEC said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, helped by the settlement of a trade dispute over imported enriched uranium used at U.S. nuclear power plants.

USEC said it made $49.5 million, or 31 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $25.1 million, or 16 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue for the quarter totaled $467.6 million compared with $431.9 million in the 2008 quarter.

Shares of USEC jumped 62 cents, or 14 percent, to $4.98 in trading Monday afternoon. The shares have traded between $3.22 and $7.24 over the past year.

USEC received $70 million pretax in the quarter from the trade settlement with French uranium enrichment company Eurodif SA and its affiliates.

The settlement was entered in May. It came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January 2009 that a 20 percent tariff is justified on enriched uranium from abroad. Protective tariffs are imposed when there is evidence that goods are being exported at prices below levels charged in the producer’s home market.

Eurodif and a group of U.S. utilities challenged the tariff imposed by the Commerce Department in 2002.

For the year, USEC earned $58.5 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $48.7 million, or 35 cents per share, for 2008. Revenue increased to $2.04 billion for 2009 from $1.61 billion in 2008.