TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Uranium miner Paladin Energy on Thursday reported a narrower net loss for the three months to March, saying it remained under pressure from low uranium prices.

Uranium miners have been struggling since Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster hit in March 2011.

The Perth, Australia-based miner, which owns two uranium assets in Africa, reported a net loss of $11-million, or $0.018 a share, compared with a net loss of $60-million, or $0.065 a share, in the comparable period of 2013.

The loss in 2013 was mainly attributable to a $44.8-million impairment of the Kayelekera Mine assets, in Malawi, which it had subsequently placed on care and maintenance in February.

Revenue in the quarter decreased by 17% year-over-year to $88.6-million, owing to a 33% slump in the average realised uranium price to $36.8/lb, which was only partially offset by a 25% rise in sales volume to 2.4-million pounds of yellow cake.

Paladin said that uranium sales tend to fluctuate quarter-on-quarter owing to the uneven timing of contractual commitments and resulting delivery scheduling by utility customers.

The company’s gross profit declined by 89% in the quarter to $1.6-million, from $14.1-million as a result of lower revenue.

During the quarter, Paladin reported a combined production of just over two-million pounds from its Kayelekera and Langer Heinrich mines. This compared with the 2.2-million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) in the previous quarter.

The Kayelekera operation produced 696 710 lb during the quarter, compared with the 777 015 lb produced in the previous three months.

Paladin suspended operations at Kayelekera in February this year, citing the depressed price of U₃O₈ and the unsustainable cash demand to maintain the loss-making operation.

Production at the Langer Heinrich operation, in Namibia, declined to 1.39-million pounds during the three months to March, compared with the 1.43-million pounds produced over the three months to December.

For the full year, Paladin expected to produce between 7.8-million pounds and 8-million pounds U₃O₈, with the balance of production only sourced from the Langer Heinrich mine.