Areva
generated consolidated revenue of 2.026 billion euros in the first
quarter of 2012, up 2.4% compared with the same period in 2011, the
company said April 26.
The
increase in revenue in the Mining Business Group (+11.9%), the Reactors
& Services Business Group (+5.8%) and the Renewable Energies
Business Group (+198.2%) offset the expected decrease in revenue in the
Front End Business Group (-17.2%), Areva said April 26.
The
Front End BG reported revenue of 432 million euros for the first
quarter of 2012, a decrease of 17.2% compared with the first quarter of
2011.
Revenue
from the enrichment business decreased, following a decrease in volumes
delivered over the period due to the expiration of the legacy contract
with EDF for enrichment services from the Georges Besse plant, Areva
said.
The
gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant, Georges Besse, owned and
operated by EURODIF is preparing for permanent shutdown. Production
phase-out is scheduled to start beginning May 13, 2012, Areva said.
The
Georges Besse II plant, using more modern centrifuge technology,
continued to ramp up; 22 cascades were in operation at the end of March
(an increase of 6 cascades compared with December 2011), in line with
the schedule of the project, Areva said.
In the fuel business, revenue was down as the schedule of deliveries was less favorable than those in the first quarter of 2011.
Order
cancellations for the Areva group as a result of the Fukushima accident
totaled 612 million euros at March 31, 2012, compared with 464 million
euros at December 31, 2011, the company said.
In the first quarter of 2012, the Front End BG activities included:
•
a contract with EDF to supply fuel assemblies and related services in
2013 and 2014. EDF and AREVA also decided to negotiate a mid- to
long-term frame agreement for fuel element fabrication, thus
strengthening their strategic partnership in nuclear fuel supply;
•
an extension to the 2006 contract with FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
Company for fuel supply to the David Besse nuclear power plant in
northwestern Ohio, US, under which AREVA will supply six batches of fuel
and related engineering services starting in 2014;
• several contracts with US utilities in the enrichment service business.
Reactor & Services
The
Reactors & Services BG reported first quarter 2012 revenue of 782
million euros, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%. Foreign exchange had a
positive impact of 6 million euros; changes in consolidation scope had a
negative impact of 8 million euros.
Revenue
rose in Installed Base Services, benefiting from the replacement of
primary system components in France and from a strong outage business in
the United States, offsetting the drop in demand in Germany, Areva
said.
The main new orders booked in the first quarter were:
•a
contract with EDF for vessel inspections in all 58 nuclear reactors in
France (this 10-year agreement starts in 2012, with an option for 5
additional years);
•
a contract with the Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin Nucléaire for the supply
of ventilation systems for the containment buildings of Units 1 and 2 of
the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania.
•
Revenue evolution in the New Builds business is in line with progress
on major reactor projects (Olkiluoto 3, Flamanville 3 and Taishan 1 and
2). Their contribution to the BG's revenue is declining, consistent with
their current stages of completion.
Reported
revenue is also beginning to reflect the first engineering and forgings
contracts for reactors that EDF plans to build in the UK.
Olkiluoto-3 Update
The
Olkiluoto 3 project in Finland (Areva scope: a complete power plant, as
part of a consortium with Siemens) is now more than 80% complete and
the testing and fine-tuning phase is beginning. Electromechanical work
is more than 70% complete.
Finishing
work is in full swing, supporting the start of mechanical component
testing. The primary system components have been installed and
inspected. All fuel handling equipment is in place and testing has
begun.
The
provisional operating organization formed by TVO and the Consortium is
filling the cooling system with sea water. Electrical testing continues
in the turbine building and is beginning in the nuclear island
buildings. TVO is using the operations simulator installed at the site.
The operational readiness report is being updated for presentation to the safety authority at the end of the year.
The
detailed report on the instrumentation and control system architecture
will also be delivered by the end of the year for in-depth review by the
safety authority.
The
consortium’s commissioning teams are in place and are cooperating more
and more closely with TVO teams to prepare the system testing sequences,
the so-called integration tests and the phases leading up to fuel
loading upon fuel receipt.
Thus,
the first quarter of 2012 marks the completion of construction and
ramp-up of testing, as well as the preparation of start-up for this
first-of-a-kind EPR reactor.
Flamanville-3 Update
At
the Flamanville 3 jobsite in France (Areva scope: a nuclear steam
supply system), work is proceeding according to the customer’s
schedule. On July 20, 2011, project operator EDF announced a schedule
calling for the sale of the first kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2016.
In
Areva’s scope, 93% of the procurement has been completed and
engineering is almost 100% complete -- the remaining work is almost
exclusively related to changes made by the customer, Areva said.
Equipment
manufacturing is also progressing well and the first hydraulic tests
have been completed for all four steam generators and reactor coolant
pump casings, Areva said.
Concerning
manufacturing of the vessel head, which had been interrupted when
non-compliant welds were detected, the French nuclear safety authority
ASN approved the repair operation in late February 2012.
Areva
restarted repair operations at its Chalon/Saint-Marcel plant as planned
in the compliance schedule, with no impact on the reactor construction
schedule.
In
the first quarter of 2012, ASN also lifted its October 2009
reservations on the architecture of the instrumentation and control
system for the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor based on the responses
provided.
Platform
testing of version 2 of the TELEPERM XS safety instrumentation and
control system is being finalized. Design activities for version 3 of
the system were launched in the first quarter of 2012, Areva said.
Taishan Update
At
the Taishan jobsite in China (Areva scope: two nuclear islands), major
achievements have been recorded in the first quarter of 2012, Areva
said.
Delivery
of the main components continued on schedule, including delivery of the
remaining heavy equipment of the primary cooling system of Unit 1
(steam generators, pressuriser and vessel internals).
Areva
began testing the polar crane in February. These activities, which will
allow the customer to install the reactor vessel, are progressing
successfully.
The
nuclear island for Unit 2 is being built at the same time and is only
about 6 months behind that of Unit 1 (based on the percentage of
completion of the two reactor buildings).
In
March, the Areva project team in charge of providing technical
assistance to the customer for installation and testing was deployed to
the site.
Other R&S Developments
On
January 31, 2012, Areva and its partners submitted a bid to the Finnish
utility Fennovoima for the construction of an EPR nuclear power plant
at Pyhäjoki in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. The bid includes
engineering, procurement and construction of the entire nuclear power
plant, including the reactor and the turbine.
On
February 8, 2012, the ATMEA company received the final report from the
French nuclear safety authority ASN on the safety options for the
generation III+ ATMEA1 pressurized water reactor.
The
ASN concluded that the ATMEA1 reactor’s safety options, which take into
account internal and external risks and the first lessons learned from
the Fukushima accident as analyzed by ATMEA, are consistent with French
regulations, Areva said.
On
February 17, 2012, Areva signed a memorandum of understanding with EDF
for the delivery of nuclear steam supply systems and instrumentation and
control systems for the Hinkley Point C EPR project in the United
Kingdom. The agreement also confirms the schedule for completion of
contract negotiations.
On
February 17, 2012, Areva and Rolls Royce signed a memorandum of
understanding to expand their cooperation, which encompasses the
manufacturing of components for new nuclear power plants and other
nuclear projects in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This agreement is
further to the industrial cooperation agreement signed by the two
companies in March 2011.
On
March 5, 2012, Areva signed a series of memoranda of understanding with
Czech companies as part of its strategy to select a network of local
suppliers in regions identified for development of EPR projects,
including the Temelin 3 and 4 one, in the Czech Republic.
On
March 29, 2012, the German utilities E.ON and RWE npower, partners in
the Horizon Nuclear Power joint venture (HNP), announced that they would
not pursue their plan to build a nuclear power plant at the Wylfa site
in North Wales, United Kingdom. The decision by E.ON and RWE is
motivated by the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power
and by the economic and financial crisis. They are looking for buyers
for the Horizon project, which they consider very attractive. At the
same time, Areva confirms its commitment to the development of
low-carbon power generation solutions in the United Kingdom.
Mining Business Group
For
the first quarter of 2012, the Mining BG reported revenue of 313
million euros, an increase of 11.9% in relation to the first quarter of
2011. Foreign exchange had a positive impact of 14 million euros.
Among
the contracts signed in the first quarter of 2012, a significant
contract was signed for the supply of 2,000 tons of U3O8 with an Asian
customer, Areva said.
Revenue
was buoyed by the increased volumes delivered in the first quarter
(+136 MTU), despite an average sales price that was slightly lower than
in the first quarter of 2011, due to a less favorable mix of contracts
fulfilled during the period.
On
February 10, 2012, in order to secure the supply chain and
competitiveness of the French nuclear power program, EDF and Areva
agreed on the principles of a long-term partnership for natural uranium
supply over the 2014-2030 period.
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