Sellafield owners post losses of £303m

British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), the company which runs Sellafield, has posted losses of £303 million for the year, despite seeing turnover rise by 5%.

Losses were up by over £40 million on last year's mark due to the impact of the Mox plant start-up and some increased costs through nuclear clean-up liabilities at Sellafield, the company said.

The group's cash outflow of £128 million reflected "continued heavy investment in capital expenditure" and committing substantial funds to addressing "legacy clean-up issues".

That investment combined to see the best overall nuclear safety performance in the company's history, BNFL said, with over £500 million spent on discharging historic nuclear liabilities.

For the year ended 31 March 2004, BNFL saw a total turnover of £2,322 million, compared to £2,219 in 2003.

Michael Parker, BNFL Group Chief Executive, said that the period since last summer had been "one of the most challenging in BNFL's history".

He added: "The loss sustained by the Group in 2003-2004 is disappointing, but the financial position will change dramatically once the NDA takes responsibility for a significant portion of our assets and liabilities as well as the legacy issues. This is scheduled to take place on 1 April 2005."

BNFL described as "bold" its creation of British Nuclear Group and the transformation of its organisation and culture to allow the group to "play a leading role in the safe, cost-effective and timely management of the UK's nuclear clean-up programme".

BNFL also exceeded a "significant number" of operating targets including reprocessing, vitrification, fuel production and electricity generation, Mr Parker said.

He added that he was excited for the group's prospect as it had the "knowledge, skills and experience to succeed".

(gmcg)