June 26, 2013

Monthly Press Conference

Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about "Status of the Reprocessing Plant" and "Overview of FY2012 Financial Results".

"Status of the Reprocessing Plant"

  • The vitrification tests for System A were completed satisfactorily on May 26. The glass melter was subsequently drained, and in-furnace observation was carried out on June 17, confirming that there was no damage that could affect future operations.
  • Chipping work is now being carried out to remove residual materials on the furnace base to prepare the furnace for future operations.
  • The results of the vitrification tests, along with the findings from in-furnace observation, are currently being examined in detail. JNFL plans to submit the findings from tests on System A as well as System B to the government sometime after July, and file a request for pre-operation inspections once again.

"Overview of FY2012 Financial Results"

  • As stated in the Profit and Loss Statement, JNFL posted 294.1 billion yen in "net sales", down 7.5 billion yen from the previous year due to a drop in spent fuel reprocessing revenues. The "cost of sales" stood at 248.5 billion yen, down 3.6 billion yen from the previous year as a result of business streamlining that achieved cost cutting and reduction in depreciation and other cost items. As a result, the "gross profit on sales" registered 45.5 billion yen, and the "operating profit" was 21.9 billion yen. The "ordinary profit", which reflects "non-operating income", marked 12.7 billion yen, while the "current term net profit", which incorporates "extraordinary loss" such as the cost of retiring fixed assets and "corporate taxes, etc.", ended at 5.6 billion yen.
  • Following last year's financial results, and in view of the extremely tough business conditions among electric power companies, JNFL promoted thorough streamlining of business operations including a review of repair costs, and reduction of personnel expenses through cuts in directors' remunerations and employee bonuses, to increase profit with reduced revenues for the second successive year.
  • JNFL will continue to steadily promote thorough business streamlining and cost reduction to keep the business expenses under control while reinforcing its fiscal foundation by clearing accumulated losses.

"Public Comments concerning the New Regulation Standards"

  • On June 19, the Nuclear Regulation Authority approved the New Safety Standards and Regulatory Guide incorporating public comments.
  • JNFL submitted its stance on the "draft guide on seismic safety standards", stating that they should not place excessive emphasis on tectonic geomorphological surveys, should not make licensees provide academic information, and should reflect the opinions of experts from a diverse range of fields rather than a small group of experts. However, to our regret, JNFL's stance was not reflected due to the difference of opinion.
  • JNFL strongly requests that NRA makes a comprehensive approach in actual seismic safety reviews, combining the results of a diverse range of investigations.