JSC "TVEL" has issued its annual report 2007. Report was approved on the 27^th of June 2008 by the decision of JSC "Atomenergoproyect" - unique shareholder of JSC "TVEL".

Main activity of the company in 2007 was fabrication and selling of fuel assemblies for the NPPs (90,9% from the total volume of realized production). The report reminds also, that fuel elements is a production of a strategic purpose.

Nowadays TVEL has a 17% share of the world market of fuel elements deliveries. World leaders here are AREVA NP (30%) and "Westinghouse"/"Toshiba" (26%). Share of GNF is 17% and 10% for other manufactures.

"Nuclear fuel world market is characterized nowadays by the intensification of the competition between the main companies-manufactures. Fuel fabricators that are also reactor suppliers at the same time, begin offering nuclear fuel for the reactors, build by their rivals. That is why the tendency towards the permanent improving of the fuel construction and continuing orientation on the increasing of the fuel burnout depth and better behavior within the core is traced. To a grater extend it is revealed on the fuel market for PWR reactors", - states the report.

"Philosophy of the "free trade", "nondiscrimination" and international division of labor is becoming more and more characteristic to the world nuclear fuel market. At the same time because of the presence of domestic manufactures some countries are realizing obvious protectionist politics to defend their interests and artificially limit the concurrence from the side of foreign manufactures, most of all Russian ones. For example JSC "TVEL" during several years faces discriminational measures of the European Union that limit supplies of enriched uranium product within the fuel assemblies. Besides, integration of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania in 2007 to the European Union and joining to the EURATOM agreement obliged them to follow the demand of diversification of suppliers", - stresses the document.

Among the operations, realized by JSC "TVEL" in 2007 can be mentioned fabricating at JSC "MSZ" of the nuclear fuel from the regenerated uranium for the foreign PWR reactors by the technology and specification of AREVA NP. During 2007 by this cooperation fuel was supplied to 6 foreign reactors, and altogether from 1994 till now JSC "MSZ" has produced 1694 fuel assemblies without any quality claim to Russian production. In 2007 was also signed a contract in the cooperation with AREVA NP on supplying pellets of the regenerated uranium for NPP "Sizewell" in Great Britain.

JSC "TVEL" was realizing in 2007 fuel supplies to 74 power generating reactors in 14 countries of the world and to 30 research reactors, including Ukraine (15 reactors), Slovakia (5), Bulgaria (2), Hungary (4), Armenia (1), Czech Republic (4), Finland (2), Lithuania (1), Iran (1), China (2).

JSC "TVEL" was also taking part in such projects as a conversion of the research reactors to the low-enriched uranium, manufacturing of superconductor materials based on the NbTi alloy and Nb3Sn compound for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), weapon-grade plutonium excesses utilization, designing of "TVS-KVADRAT" assembly and a lot of other.

Financial activities results

Product, operation and services sales amounted to RUR37 293,39mln and is greater by 30,7% than in 2006. Main factors, which caused the profit growth, are the following:

1. Growth of the profit from fuel assemblies sales for Russian NPPs by RUR1 863,22mln. or by 18,7% including:
   • Growth of the prices regulated by the state - by RUR1 123,82mln;
   • Increasing of fuel assemblies sales (+101) - by RUR739,40mln.
2. Growth of the profit from the fuel assembly sales for foreign NPPs by RUR2 102,69mln. or by 29,1% including:
   • Prices growth by RUR957,59mln;
   • Increasing of fuel assemblies sales (+172) by RUR1 266,72mln.
3. During 2007 order for the fresh nuclear fuel for NPPs in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania was increased;
4. Deliveries of the fuel, fabricated by JSC "TVEL" for the initial loading of the first unit of NPP Busher (Iran) have started;
5. Profit growth from fuel assemblies supplies to Ukraine by RUR2 850,09mln or by 28,8% - this growth has become possible due to the agreed prices growth by RUR3 751,64mln, that has compensated the losses from the reduction of the sailed fuel assemblies (-38) by RUR(-164,93)mln.
6. Profit growth from the fuel assemblies sales for graphite-uranium industrial reactor by RUR181,71mln, including due to the prices growth by RUR102,49mln.
7. Significant profit growth from the sales of other production, industrial services and the volumes of the wholesale trade more than twice in comparison with the volumes of the previous year - profit growth from the other production sales is RUR1 769,79mln.
8. Reduction of the profit volume due to the exchange rates changes is RUR(-877,76)mln.

   SOURCE: JSC TVEL official web-site

   DATE: July 16, 2008

   Topics: NFC, Russia, TVEL

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