Areva, which has been designed as a one-stop nuclear shop, has been affected by massive impairments on its uranium assets and a slowdown of the nuclear industry following Japan’s Fukushima disaster
Areva Accelerates Disposals By GERALDINE AMIEL, WSJ, March 2, 2012, PARIS—French state-controlled nuclear energy company Areva SA announced two asset disposals as part of a plan to boost competitiveness and better position it to face a slowing civil atomic industry, one year after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear catastrophe.
Friday, the group said it has signed an agreement to sell its 27.94% stake in the Canadian Millennium uranium mining project to its partner Cameco Corp. for 150 million Canadian dollars ($152 million), or a little more than €112 million. Late Thursday, the group said it agreed to sell its 26% stake in nickel producer Eramet SA to state-owned strategic investment fund FSI, for €776 million.
The disposals are part of a plan to sell as much as €1.2 billion worth
of assets in 2012-2013. Areva’s Chief Financial officer Pierre Aubouin
said in a conference call Friday that he was confident that most of
the disposals would be done by this year……
Areva, which has been designed as a one-stop nuclear shop, has been
affected by massive impairments on its uranium assets and a slowdown
of the nuclear industry following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. Areva is
opening financing of its Imouraren uranium mine to French
state-controlled power behemoth Electricité de France SA.
Potential contracts for new reactors are been delayed, notably in
India but also in China, where the group seeks to build
third-generation safety-enhanced Evolutionary Pressurized Reactor, or
EPR, Areva’s Chief Executive Luc Oursel said Friday.
Areva hopes to finalize a deal this year to build two EPRs in India,
after more than two years of talks, and is still waiting for Chinese
authorities to lift their ban on new reactors, Mr. Oursel said.
Late Thursday, Areva said it made a net loss of €2.42 billion in 2011
after a €883 million net profit a year earlier,…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203753704577257183309548816.html
