BRITAIN: British Nuclear Fuels Limited, the state-owned British company that operates the Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria, reported record losses yesterday of £2.3 billion (€3.6 billion) but said its operating performance had improved.
Chairman Mr Hugh Collum said it had been a "landmark year" for the company, which had achieved an underlying profit before tax and exceptional items of £22 million.
But Friends of the Earth, the environmental pressure group, called for an investigation into the British government's management of the company. The group's nuclear campaigner Mr Roger Higman said the scale of the losses was "staggering", adding: "They underline the fact that nuclear power is completely uneconomic."
BNFL said in its final results for the year ended March 31st that its underlying performance had "significantly improved" in all businesses, while safety and environmental performance targets had been met.
The government's recent decision to transfer BNFL's decommissioning liabilities to a new Liabilities Management Authority would bring greater commercial and competitive focus, said the company. Mr Collum praised the £22 million pre-tax profit, which compared with a £210 million loss in the previous year.
"This has been a landmark year for BNFL during which significant decisions have been made against a backdrop of substantial achievements," said Mr Collum, who was yesterday awarded a £15,000 a year pay rise, taking his salary to £165,000.
Substitute BNFL's chief executive Mr Norman Askew said this was a time of "major opportunity" for the company.
"Building on the past two years, BNFL is now taking shape, having regard to the highest safety and environmental standards."
BNFL donated £109,000 to the two main political parties in the United States last year, yesterday's report revealed.
But Mr Collum said no further donations would be made because the company had decided it was "not the best way" to do business. He denied reports that the donations had been hidden from the government and insisted that ministers had been told.
The losses were due to the company's liabilities for decommissioning its nuclear sites as well as the early closure of two Magnox power stations - Calder Hall in Cumbria and Chapelcross in Scotland.
The group's turnover increased by 5 per cent over the year to £2.26 billion, mainly because of increased business at the Sellafield site. BNFL said its pre-tax profit of £22 million was modest compared to its turnover, but represented a "major turnaround" from the previous year's substantial losses.
But Friends of the Earth said the figures proved that nuclear power was "completely uneconomic" and the losses would be a setback for government ministers wanting a new generation of nuclear plants.