Two of the uranium industry’s biggest players released their first-quarter results this week, which earned mixed reactions from analysts still worried about continued slides in spot uranium price. 

First, Canadian uranium juggernaut Cameco Corp. (TSX: T.CCO, Bullboard) reported what it called strong Q1 earnings on Tuesday—these included a profit of $133-million—but its shares barely budged on the TSX, gaining just six cents, or 0.1%, to close Tuesday at $40.34. Cameco shares then lost some ground on Wednesday, but climbed again in late-week trading, finishing the week with a four-per-cent climb to $41.59. 

Excitement was scarce around the Cameco news, as analysts near and far felt the company should have done better. At first glance, $133 million is well higher than last year’s $59 million, the jump fuelled by higher realized selling prices for the company’s gold and uranium, but a profit of 39 cents a share was actually below forecasts. For example, a Bloomberg survey pegged Cameco profits to 43 cents a share. 

Cameco’s performance is hardly disastrous, but the results come at a time when spot uranium prices continue to fall and scrutiny is high. The Globe and Mail newspaper blamed the global credit squeeze for pushing the much-anticipated “nuclear renaissance” to the back burner. Indeed, a massive expansion of nuclear power was expected around the globe to help wean industry off its oil addiction. And while international agreements are still being penned today, some of that enthusiasm has cooled in the face of steadily falling prices of the metal. 

Still, as some analysts slammed Cameco’s performance, others applauded the miner, saying its shares still have room to grow, and thus offers a solid bet for investors in it for the long haul. The National Post newspaper reported RBC Capital analyst H. Fraser Phillips told clients that Cameco's operating results have improved and its realized prices have jumped. 

The other major uranium player to share its Q1 financials was Uranium One (TSX: T.UUU, Bullboard). As expected after its troubles in 2007, the company posted a loss in the first part of 2008, losing $114.9 million, or 24 cents a share, in the three months leading up to March 31. In the same period of 2007, the company recorded a profit of nearly $8 million, or four cents a share. 

The company also said revenue fell to $22.5 million from $41.7 million a year ago, mostly due to lower sales volumes and poor production numbers from the company’s Dominion mine in South Africa, which continues to disappoint analysts in terms of mined tonnage and grades of the metal. Uranium One shares fell 6.6% to $4.23 on Wednesday following the announcement, but bounced back to close the week at $4.52. (Uranium One stock was trading above $17 one year ago.) 

Adding to the bearish sentiment in the sector, the spot uranium price slid again late last week, this time dropping US$5 to US$60 a pound U3O8. That’s according to price publisher Tradetech, which reported market participants continue to seek the proverbial price bottom, but the ready availability of supply relative to extremely weak demand is making that search extremely difficult. Rival price publisher Ux Consulting also dropped its spot uranium price, lowering it US$3 to US$60 a pound U3O8. 

According to Tradetech, some sellers have started firming their offer prices in anticipation of potential big buys from investors, while others continue to cut prices in order to move material. For now, all active demand remains discretionary with nobody in a must-buy situation. 

Futures contracts are also dropping, according to the weekly uranium update from Toll Cross Securities. May futures are trading at $60, June contracts worth $62, and July contracts $64. August through November futures are priced at $65, and December contracts are worth $66. Looking ahead to 2009, we see that year’s June and December futures both trading at $82. 

Compared to this time last week, junior uranium explorers and production visibility companies both moved up one per cent, while advanced explorers jumped 18%. Producers fell six per cent. The Toll Cross Junior Uranium Index nudged up less than one per cent, to 346.09 from 344.28. 

In other news, the president of Russia’s state-owned power reactor vendor was appointed as that country’s new energy minister, a testament to Russia’s commitment to nuclear power. And a Washington Post report on nuclear power found more than 40 developing countries have recently approached the United Nations to express interest in starting nuclear power programs, driven by economic considerations in the face of rising oil prices. 

Of course, it will be a while still before interest turns into planning, and planning into reactors. And that means it will be a while still before we know whether or not uranium pundits spreading joyous news of a nuclear renaissance were crying wolf.