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USEC Reports on Recent Loan
Guarantee Progress at Shareholders' Meeting
BETHESDA, Md. - USEC Inc.
(NYSE:USU) today hosted its annual shareholders
meeting and reported to its shareholders on the accomplishments of the past
year and the recent progress made in the Company's application for a $2
billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy (DOE).
John K. Welch, USEC president and
chief executive officer, said work done over the past year to address DOE's
concerns had provided a strong foundation for the comprehensive update to the
loan guarantee application submitted in July 2010. As announced earlier this
week, DOE's Loan Guarantee Program Office has substantially completed its due
diligence and negotiation stage of the application process and has advanced
the American Centrifuge
Project
application to the next phase, which includes credit review within DOE and
the Office of Management and Budget.
"We know this has been a long
road for our shareholders, but I believe we have made significant progress
toward obtaining a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee," Welch
said.
Welch also discussed the nuclear
emergency in Japan following the massive earthquake and tsunami in March,
noting that although the recent events would have a near-term impact on the
nuclear power industry, the world will need nuclear power in the long term to
meet a growing demand for electricity.
To read a copy of Welch's complete remarks to shareholders, please go
to Speeches in the Newsroom section of the Company's website, www.usec.com.
During the meeting, shareholders voted to elect all eleven director
nominees for a one-year term. Shareholders also approved the Company's
advisory resolution on executive compensation and indicated their preferred
frequency for the Company to hold future advisory votes on executive
compensation. The shareholders
also approved an amendment to the Company's equity incentive plan and
ratified the appointment of the Company's independent auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP. The specific voting results
will be provided in a current report on Form 8-K.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched
uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
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Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" -
that is, statements related to future events. In this context,
forward-looking statements may address our expected future business and
financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "will" and other words of similar meaning.
Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to
different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and uncertainties
that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
risks related to the deployment of the American Centrifuge technology,
including risks related to performance, cost, schedule and financing; our
success in obtaining a loan guarantee from DOE for the American Centrifuge
Plant, including our ability to address the technical and financial concerns
raised by DOE and the timing of any loan guarantee; timing and the outcome of
the reviews of the terms and conditions for a conditional commitment
negotiated, including the determination of a preliminary credit subsidy cost
range, and our ability to meet any required conditions to funding; our
ability to obtain additional financing beyond the $2 billion of DOE loan
guarantee funding for which we have applied, including our success in
obtaining Japanese export credit agency financing of up to $1 billion; the
impact of the demobilization of the American Centrifuge project and uncertainty
regarding our ability to remobilize the project and the potential for
termination of the project; our ability to meet the November 2011 financing
milestone and other milestones under the June 2002 DOE-USEC Agreement;
restrictions in our credit facility that may impact our operating and
financial flexibility and spending on the American Centrifuge project; risks
related to the completion of the remaining two phases of the three-phased
strategic investment by Toshiba Corporation and the The
Babcock &Wilcox Investment Company, including our ability to satisfy the
significant closing conditions in the securities purchase agreement governing
the transactions and our ability to close on the second phase of the
transactions prior to the outside date of June 30, 2011, and the impact of a
failure to consummate the transactions on our business and prospects; changes
in U.S. government priorities and the availability of government funding,
including loan guarantees; the competitive environment for our products and
services; changes in the nuclear energy industry; the impact of the recent
natural disaster in Japan on the nuclear industry and on our business,
results of operations and prospects; and other risks and uncertainties
discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
which are available on our website www.usec.com. We do not undertake to
update our forward-looking statements except as required by law.
Contacts:
Investors: Steven Wingfield (301) 564-3354
Media: Paul Jacobson (301) 564-3399
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