Earnings rose at AtkinsRéalis, Montreal, Canada, in the second quarter, which the nuclear services and infrastructure company partially attributed to a brisk business in life extensions for power reactors, according to a Friday press release.
Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were C$82.2 million [US $59.9 million], or C$0.47 [U.S. $0.34] a share, up from C$63.8 million [U.S. $46.5 million], or C$0.36 a share [US $0.26] in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was C$2.3 billion [US $1.7 billion], up year-over-year from C$2.1 billion [US $1.5 billion].
Quarterly earnings before interest and taxes for the nuclear segment, which includes AtkinsRéalis’ Department of Energy weapons complex work in the United States, were\\
C$43 million [US $31.3 million], up from C$33 million [US $24 million] a year ago. Nuclear segment revenue was about C$358 million [US $260 million], up from C$251 million [US $183 million] in the year-ago period. Extending nuclear plant service life by 30 years by replacing old components is proving to be a “no brainer” for many areas of the world, said AtkinsRéalis President & CEO Ian Edwards.
Earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the second quarter, which the company on Monday attributed partly to organic growth in government operations as it prepared to begin work on a new nuclear weapons contract.
In June, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded PanTeXas Deterrence, a BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led joint venture, a contract to manage the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. With options, the deal is worth $30 billion over 20 years.
BWXT’s net earnings for the second quarter were $73 million, or $0.79 a share, up from $59 million, or $0.64 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was $681.5 million, up year-over-year from $612.5 million. Quarterly segment operating income for the government operations segment, which handles government contracting NNSA and other Department of Energy sites, was $93 million, up from $82 million a year ago. Segment revenue was $541 million, up from $492 million in the year-ago period.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission this week agreed to reduce the time an Ontario Power Generation facility must keep used spent fuel in wet storage pools before moving it to dry storage.
According to a Tuesday press release, the commission agreed to allow Ontario Power’s Pickering Waste Management Facility to store up to 100 dry storage containers of used fuel that has been cooled in wet storage at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station for at least six years. The prior time period for wet storage for at least 10 years, according to the release.
The decision follows a public hearing and stakeholder filings, the commission said.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meets on Thursday, Aug. 29 near the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina to review DOE’s plans to dispose of spent nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) plans a hybrid in-person/online meeting from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in North Augusta, S.C., the board said recently. The session will include an update from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy on storage, transportation, and disposal research and development activity, according to an NWTRB press release.
There will also be an update on DOE’s consent-based siting efforts and commercial interim consolidated storage facilities. The DOE Office of Environmental Management will also discuss spent fuel work at the Savannah River Site, according to the release.. Likewise, spent fuel programs at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory are also on the preliminary agenda.
