Centrus Accelerates Revenue Growth as Uranium Sales Climb
Second-quarter revenue rose 14% to $176.1 million as uranium sales lifted the nuclear-fuel business.
Centrus Energy (LEU), a nuclear-fuel supplier, posted faster second-quarter revenue growth as a shift toward uranium sales outweighed lower enrichment volume.
The quarter marked an acceleration from 5% revenue growth in the first quarter, with sales more than doubling sequentially from $76.7 million. GAAP net income improved from the preceding quarter while remaining below the year-earlier result.
GAAP net income fell 42% to $16.8 million from $28.9 million, even as revenue increased. Adjusted net income rose 12% to $38.7 million and advanced from $23.5 million in the first quarter, reflecting the exclusion of elevated stock-compensation expense.
Revenue in the low-enriched uranium segment rose 22% to $153.4 million, reversing a 13% first-quarter decline. Uranium revenue reached $53.4 million, compared with none a year earlier and $3.0 million in the preceding quarter. SWU volume declined 23%, while average selling prices increased 3% and unit costs rose 13%, narrowing the benefit from pricing.
That cost pressure limited LEU gross-profit growth to 2% and reduced the segment’s gross margin to about 33.6% from 40.3%. Technical Solutions revenue fell 21% to $22.7 million, and the segment recorded a $1.7 million gross loss as the Energy Department’s HALEU operation contract reduced quarterly revenue by $5.9 million.
Consolidated gross margin narrowed to about 28.3% from 34.9%, while operating income dropped to $10.4 million from $33.5 million. Selling, general and administrative expense nearly doubled to $26.2 million, largely because of stock compensation tied to nonemployee restricted-stock-unit tax withholdings. Advanced-technology spending climbed to $10.8 million as Centrus incurred costs for enrichment expansion, while higher investment income provided a partial offset.
Centrus expects 2026 revenue of $450 million to $500 million and capital deployment of $350 million to $500 million. The company has $4.5 billion in backlog through 2040, including $3.7 billion in LEU backlog, though the outlook for its $0.8 billion Technical Solutions backlog weakened after the Energy Department indicated it does not currently intend to exercise more options under the existing HALEU operation contract.
The company also disclosed a $900 million fixed-price Energy Department HALEU enrichment award that could reach $1.07 billion with purchase options, alongside its first large-scale commercial HALEU supply agreement. Centrus raised its Piketon hiring target to at least 175 net new employees as first-half capital spending climbed to $94.8 million and operating cash flow swung to a $16.7 million outflow, putting the expansion’s near-term cash demands alongside its longer-term contracted revenue.