Interim Report January-September 2001

Studsvik AB (publ) - Interim Report January-September 2001 · Hans-Bertil Håkansson to take over as Chief Executive Officer and President on December 1, 2001. · The result after net financial items for the third quarter amounted to SEK -35.0 million (-23.3) and for the period of January- September, SEK -99.1 million (79.8). A material amount of non-recurring items was also reported in the third quarter, SEK -30.5 million, amounting to SEK -62.1 million for the period of January-September. · The production capacity of the Erwin facility is now in line with the original plan. However, the terrorist attacks of September 11 have limited business at present. · Short refueling and maintenance outages in the Swedish and German nuclear power industry in 2001 resulted in lower sales volumes in Industrial Services. · During the third quarter, 7 patients were treated at Studsvik's BNCT facility for neutron irradiation of brain tumors. · After the reporting period, Studsvik signed its first contract in the important US Government waste market sector. Business During the third quarter, most of the annual refueling and maintenance outages in the nuclear power industry were completed. Compared with the previous year, in both Germany and Sweden, the outage time was more concentrated and no significant outage extensions occurred. The first step in the ongoing rationalization and change program has been completed. A new organization has now been implemented at Studsvik Nuclear AB and the number of employees reduced by 13-15. The cost of consultants and personnel redundancies has been charged to earnings for the quarter. When the first step of the program has been completed, at least SEK 15 million in sustainable savings per year are expected. The second stage of the program, focusing on other units within the Swedish part of the Group, is expected to start in the first quarter of 2002. The company's current Chief Executive Officer and President will be retiring from these positions on December 1, 2001. A new Chief Executive Officer has been appointed, Dr. Hans-Bertil Håkansson. Hans-Bertil Håkansson has extensive industrial and commercial experience and is currently President of Gadelius K.K. in Japan. Studsvik AB's Technical Director, formerly President of Studsvik Nuclear AB, will be taking early retirement at the beginning of 2002. The retiring President of Studsvik will receive severance pay in accordance with an agreement as well as a reduction in his retirement age from 60 to 59 years with otherwise unchanged pension terms. In accordance with an agreement signed in 1992, the Technical Director will receive severance pay corresponding to 38 months of salary. The cost of these retirements has been charged to earnings for the quarter. The facility for the treatment of ion-exchange resins in Erwin can now be operated continuously at a level of 60,000 cubic feet per year, following an extensive program to correct technical deficiencies. This corresponds to the original capacity in the facility specification. In July and August, the utilization was 80 % and the possibility of reaching full utilization towards the end of the year was expected to be good. However, the terrorist attacks of September 11 have altered this outlook. Shipments to and from the nuclear power plants were severely limited as a result of decisions by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and recommendations from the US Department of Transportation. The deliveries of material to the Erwin facility decreased substantially and production in September only corresponded to about 30 % of capacity. The transportation restrictions were reduced to some extent at the end of October. In the meantime, the customers are storing the ion-exchange resins at the nuclear power plants, which means that there is an emerging need for the handling and treatment of these resins. In Germany, the increased safety requirements mean that foreign nationals must be accompanied by a German national on the plant site. This has limited SINA's activities to a certain extent. The date for the negotiations in the ongoing arbitration process with Metric Duke, the supplier of the Erwin facility, has now been determined. The negotiations will start on January 8, 2002 and are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2002. All of the expert investigations to support Studsvik's claim have been concluded and, in the opinion of the management of Studsvik, they reinforce the possibility for a positive outcome to Studsvik's claims. Negotiations concerning participation in several projects with the potential of opening up the DOE market for the THOR process have continued. The purpose of the projects is to demonstrate the suitability of the THOR process for the treatment of the nuclear waste in the USA for which the US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible. The DOE estimates the total cost for the final disposal of this waste at between USD 150-300 billion. The management of Studsvik estimates that the THOR process can be applied to a significant portion of this waste. After the reporting period, Studsvik signed a contract with a major US construction company valued at USD 0.6 million to demonstrate the ability of the THOR technology to process various government owned waste streams. The demonstration is anticipated to be completed during the second quarter of 2002. The US Government waste market sector is estimated to have a total value of over USD 200 billion for waste cleanup operations over the next 20 to 30 years. A total of SEK -30.5 million in non-recurring items was charged to earnings for the quarter. The amount includes the cost of personnel redundancies (-23.3), costs relating to the arbitration process in the USA (-3.5), consulting costs for the rationalization program (-0.8) and the cost of the winding-up of the business in Studsvik Instrumentteknik AB (-2.3). The performance of Studsvik SBUs during the third quarter of 2001 is described below. Nuclear Technology Quality assurance work for the fuel testing projects for Japanese customers, the BOCA projects, is in progress and it is expected that the promised delivery deadlines will be met. Quality assurance is resource- intensive and thereby limits the company's capacity to conduct new projects, which has a negative impact on earnings for the year in question. Production capacity for industrial isotopes and neutron-doped silicon (semi-conductors) has been fully utilized. Capacity utilization within consulting in reactor technology, environmental technology and other nuclear technology (EcoSafe) has been high with an even and high order inflow. The operating result before amortization of goodwill for the SBU was SEK -15.0 million (-5.7) for the third quarter and for the period of January- September, SEK -19.3 million (5.9). This amount includes SEK -10.4 million (0) and -19.4 million (0) in non-recurring items. Waste & Decommissioning The facility for the destruction of ion-exchange resins in Erwin, USA has now reached a stable and high production capacity. In July and August, the production level was about 80 % of full capacity. However, capacity declined to about 30 % due to transport restrictions introduced after September 11. The average price of treated ion-exchange resins, compared to the second quarter, was largely unchanged, at USD 353 per cubic foot. Adjusted for legal and expert costs of the arbitration process, the cash flow from operating activities was positive during the third quarter. Studsvik RadWaste AB's business continues to develop well. Income during the period of January-September was 7 % higher than the previous year and the improvement in operating profit was just over SEK 7 million. The improved earnings are largely due to increased production and margins. The operating result before amortization of goodwill for the SBU was SEK -9.6 million (-19.5) for the third quarter and, for the period of January-September, SEK -41.8 million (-26.8). This amount includes SEK - 3.5 million (-6.0) and SEK -19.4 million (-10.9) in non-recurring items, respectively. The Erwin facility started commercial operation on April 1, 2000. Consequently, the comparative figures for the nine-month periods of 2000 and 2001 do not correspond. The exchange rate trend for the US dollar during the period of January-September 2001 has had a negative impact on the operating result, of SEK 6.0 million. Industrial Services The annual refueling and maintenance outages in the nuclear power industry in Sweden and Germany were largely concluded in September. This year, the impact of these outages was in the third quarter. The sales volume for this SBU was lower than in the previous year due to the fact that several of the outages were completed as scheduled. No essential defects or technical deficiencies in reactor systems and components which normally result in additional sales for the SBU were detected. On July 1, the business in Baumann Nuklear Service GmbH in Germany was acquired. The acquisition involves taking over a multi-year contract within the area of decommissioning/dismantling which, at the time of acquisition, employs about 45 people. The acquisition is having a positive impact on earnings already in 2001. The operating result before amortization of goodwill for the SBU amounted to SEK 15.8 million (15.3) for the third quarter and, for the period of January-September, to SEK 24.4 million (29.6). Nuclear Medicine The BNCT facility for the neutron irradiation of brain tumors treated 13 patients during the period of January-September. Seven of these were treated during the third quarter. Production capacity for the medical radioisotopes of phosphorus (P-32) and sulfur (S-35) is being developed. Other medical radioisotopes have had a low sales volume during the year. The operating result before amortization of goodwill for the SBU amounted to SEK -0.3 million (0.7) for the third quarter and, for the period of January-September, to SEK -0.6 million (1.2). Orders Received and Net Sales Net sales for the Group for the quarter amounted to SEK 140.6 million (145.6) and, for the period of January-September, to SEK 592.9 million (606.5). Net sales for the Group for the third quarter amounted to SEK 247.9 million (210.1) and, for the period of January-September, to SEK 656.4 million (618.0). ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/11/12/20011112BIT00810/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/11/12/20011112BIT00810/bit0002.pdf The full report