Geiger Counter Ltd Geiger Counter - GCS - Release of Interim Report and Financial Statements

Geiger Counter

Today 11:58

RNS Number : 4061K
  
Geiger Counter Ltd
  
30 June 2026
  
 


 



 
Geiger Counter Limited Plc 
 (the "Company")

30 June 2026
 
 
 
RELEASE OF INTERIM REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
 
The Directors announce the release of the Interim Report and Financial Statements for the period ended 31 March 2026, which are included as an attachment to this announcement.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4061K_1-2026-6-30.pdf
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT - FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2026
 
Introduction
I should firstly advise Shareholders that Mr Ian Reeves CBE stepped down as non-executive Chairman of the Company with effect from 11 March 2026 for health reasons. Mr Reeves remains an active non-executive Director of the Company and his continued input and wisdom remains extremely valuable. As a result of Mr Reeves stepping down, I was appointed as the non-executive Chairman from that date. Mr Reeves had been the Chairman of the Company since 2022, and the Board wishes to record its appreciation for his significant contribution during his tenure. Further details of Board appointments are shown in the section below.
 
This has been a busy period for the Company; the uranium market has continued its recovery during the six months under review and the net asset value ("NAV") per ordinary share of the Company as at 31 March 2026 was 87.12p compared to 71.66p as at 30 September 2025 which represents an increase of 21.57% for the period. The Company's share price rose by 10.65% to close the period at 66.50p per ordinary share with the discount to NAV per ordinary share closing at 23.66% on a non-diluted basis. It is important to note that with the increase in the underlying assets, the dilutive effects of the Subscription Rights become more evident. The fully diluted NAV per share as at 31 March 2026 was 78.89p per share and on that basis the discount at which the Company's shares trade was 15.71% as at 31 March 2026.
 
The Company also advised on 9 March 2026 that the Company's two co-portfolio managers, Keith Watson and Rob Crayfourd had resigned from CQS (UK) LLP (trading as Manulife | CQS Investment Management) ("Manulife | CQS") and were serving their three-month notice periods. Further details of this and the actions your Board have taken are shown in the section below.
 
Market and Performance
The uranium spot price was volatile during the six-month period under review; having started the period at $81.9/lb the spot U3O8 price jumped to $101.5/lb before settling back to end the half year at $84/lb. The longer-term average contracting price was more encouraging and ended the period in the low $90s/lb range as utilities sought to secure longer-term supplies. The uranium equities in the portfolio performed well and towards the end of the period our biggest position, Nexgen, received its long-awaited final authorisation to commence development. Your Board believes the market is supported by strong structural fundamentals with the geopolitical situation strengthening the case for the energy security that nuclear power can provide. Further details of the market and the portfolio are shown in the Investment Advisor's report on pages 15 to 17.
 
The Board continues to be excited by the fundamentals for nuclear energy and uranium markets and believes that the Company is very well placed to benefit from these.
 
Share Buybacks and Subscription Rights
The Company has continued to engage in a program of stock buybacks to provide liquidity, increase the NAV per ordinary share and ideally narrow the discount. During the period under review the Board has utilised its share buyback powers to repurchase 8,144,747 ordinary shares at a cost of £4.7m.
 
The Annual Subscription Right enables Shareholders to subscribe for 1 new Ordinary Share for every 5 Ordinary Shares held on 30 April in each year at a price equal to the undiluted NAV per ordinary share on 1 May one year prior. The Company announced on 1 May 2025 that the fifth Subscription Rights price would be 37.20 pence per share and that the exercise date would be 30 April 2026.
 
Following the end of the period under review the Company has announced that following the exercise of all Subscription Rights, the Company has raised a total of £7.8 million (on the exercise price of 37.20 pence). The Company has also announced that the 2027 Subscription Rights Price will be 94.26 pence and that the exercise date for the next Subscription Right is expected to be 30 April 2027. Shareholders will be sent details of how to subscribe a few weeks prior to that date. The Company has introduced an annual vote at its AGM to allow Shareholders to vote on whether to continue the Subscription Rights exercise each year. The Board and it's advisors will also review annually the benefits of issuing Subscription Rights.
 
Portfolio Management
After being advised that the Company's two co-portfolio managers, Keith Watson and Rob Crayfourd had resigned from Manulife | CQS and were serving their three-month notice periods, the Company announced on 16 March 2026 that it had served 12 months protective notice with its investment manager. This action was taken to protect the Company whilst the Board was considering its management options for the longer term.
 
In order to ensure that portfolio management services remained available to the Company, on 15 May 2026 the Company announced that, pursuant to a sub-investment management agreement between Manulife | CQS and Manulife Investment Management Limited ("Manulife Canada"), Manulife | CQS will delegate portfolio management services in respect of the Company to Manulife Canada. The Company has provided its consent to this delegation.
Effective from 18 May 2026 two senior Manulife Investment Management Group portfolio managers, Diana Racanelli and Craig Bethune, have assumed responsibility for the management of the portfolio. There is no change to the Company's investment process, strategy or operations.
 
Diana Racanelli, CFA and Craig Bethune, CFA, based in Toronto, are senior portfolio managers at Manulife Canada, have been with Manulife Canada for the past 12 years. Together Diana Racanelli and Craig Bethune manage USD544 million in metals & mining and energy assets, as well as a further USD1,096 million in metals & mining and resources exposure in team managed assets. The Board have had a number of meetings with Diana and Craig and are confident of both their commitment to the Company and their skills and expertise.
 
The Company considers this action to be in the best interests of shareholders as the Company continues to explore its options for the long term. A further update will be provided in due course.
 
The Board
Further to the announcement on 11 March 2026 that Mr Ian Reeves CBE has stepped down as non-executive Chairman of the Company due to health reasons and my subsequent appointment as non-executive Chairman from that date, I am delighted that with effect from 1 June 2026 Brona Lambert, FCA was appointed as a non-executive Director to Chair the Audit and Risk Committee of the Company in my place. Brona's relevant experience is extensive and is set out under Board Changes in the Corporate Summary above.
 
Outlook
The outlook for the uranium market remains very positive with global AI and data centre power requirements giving a strong emphasis to the stable base load characteristics of nuclear power. Thirty-eight countries have committed to tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Your investment managers and Board of Directors believe that the fundamental structural support for uranium equities remains as strong as ever, and that with growing global nuclear power demand coupled with a highly constrained and fragile supply landscape, our portfolio is well-positioned to benefit.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank shareholders for their continued support in the Company.
 
 
Gary Clark
Chairman
June 2026
 
 




INVESTMENT ADVISER'S REPORT - FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2026
 
A strong first half
During the interim period the uranium market strengthened considerably as structural supply deficits, production disruptions, increasing utility contracting, financial buying, and enthusiasm for nuclear power converged to support higher prices. Against this backdrop the uranium market experienced a renewed phase of positive momentum from September 2025 until early March 2026. Market conditions tightened, with affects from production shortfalls announced by Cameco and reductions to licensed production by Kazatomprom in late August accompanied by a subsequent acceleration in utility contracting. Sentiment also remained supported by continued enthusiasm for nuclear power's role in electrification. Additional impetus was notably provided by Middle East developments with the Strait of Hormuz through which over 20% of global LNG, a key energy source for gas fired electricity generation, transits with regional gas prices jumping between 60%-80%. A knock-on impact also saw price for seaborne thermal coal, lift around 30%.
 
Opportunistic purchasing by physically backed ETFs, most notably the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, coincided with some further modest buying activity by Cameco to offset production shortfalls, with the combined effect helping boost the uranium price. Having started the period at $81.9/lb the U3O8 spot price jumped to $101.5/lb before settling back to end the half year at $84/lb. Meanwhile the more stable long-term contract price has strengthened into the low $90s/lb with increasing evidence that utilities are seeking to secure longer-term supplies.
 
The performance of uranium equities broadly mirrored the improved fundamentals and the Fund NAV ended the half year at 87.6p, a healthy gain of nearly 21%, despite retracing from its late-January high of over 107p. This compared favourably to the half year sterling returns of 9.9% and 2% registered by the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF and the Solactive Pure Play Uranium Index respectively. The most significant contributions to Fund performance were made by Nexgen, Paladin and Denison Mines whose share prices rose over 30%-40% in sterling terms. Developers Nexgen and Denison both received authorisation to commence development, the final approval required, from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in the March quarter. Paladin Energy benefited from the restart of the Langer Heinrich mine and from improving investor confidence in near-term uranium production growth. The Company represented one of the few meaningful uranium restart stories capable of delivering additional supply in the medium term.
 
Supply-Demand Imbalance Intensifies
The principal driver of uranium prices during the review period was the growing recognition that the uranium market remained in structural deficit. Global uranium supply continued to lag projected reactor demand, while secondary supplies and inventories were increasingly viewed as insufficient to bridge the gap over the medium term.
 
On the supply side Cameco lowered production guidance (from 18Mlbs to 14-15Mlbs) at its McArthur River mine due to slower development into new ore zones, where the longer-than-anticipated time to freeze planned underground mine areas delayed access. Also of note, state-owned Kazatomprom, the OPEC of primary uranium supply with a share of around 45% of global mine production, outlined reductions to production allowable under its subsoil use agreements, which were officially reduced by 10% from the 85Mlbs permitted for 2026, though the group had previously flagged the adjustment earlier in the year and consensus 2026 production forecasts remain unchanged, at a lower volume of between 65-67.5Mlbs (100% basis).
 
Nevertheless, the reduction in licensing prompted a focus of attention on the longer-term outlook for regional supply and reinforced the group's value over volume strategy.
 
Against this demand expectations strengthened considerably. Of note, having renewed its funding capability SPUT acquired around 8Mlbs of uranium over the interim period. This coincided with purchases by Cameco which acquired 3.1M lbs U3O8 during the six months to end March alongside which it procured 2.75Mlbs under product loan agreements and utilised 0.9Mlbs of inventory to make good on its reduced output.
  
Nuclear power integral to international energy policies
More broadly, governments across North America, Europe and Asia continued to embrace nuclear energy as a strategic component of decarbonisation and energy security policy. Indeed, highlighting the continued backing for civil nuclear power generation, at the latest Nuclear Energy Summit held in Paris during March, China formally joined the declaration to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050. This vocal recognition of nuclear's role in the energy mix supports the continued momentum in demand growth estimates. With its latest 2025 report the International Atomic Energy increased its capacity growth estimates for the fifth year in a row, with high case scenarios projected at nearly 1,000GW of installed capacity, a 2.4 fold increase in capacity operating at the end of 2025 calendar year.
 
The World Nuclear Association's forecasts for reactor requirements projected uranium demand more than doubling by 2040. Utilities responded by accelerating long-term contracting discussions after remaining relatively under-contracted for several years. This contracting cycle became a major pillar supporting the long-term uranium price. Utilities responded by accelerating long-term contracting discussions after remaining relatively under-contracted for several years. Global nuclear fuel requirements continue to exceed primary mining production by roughly 40-50Mlbs annually.
 
Uranium Contracting
With supply deficit conditions forecast to widen, contracting has become a key pillar supporting the long-term uranium price. While reports describe 2025 as a period where utilities, having exhausted stockpiles and relying on spot purchases during 2020-2022, aggressively re-entered the term market. Despite the improving contract volumes estimated at around 120Mlbs in 2025 (of which 72Mlbs took place in calendar Q4), the annual contracting volume remained below the estimated replacement rate of ~150Mlbs pa. With the exception of India's 9 year, 22Mlbs contract with Cameco year-to-date, contracting has been relatively muted. As such, inventory replenishment remains an ongoing feature of the market.
 
Outlook and positioning
The uranium mining sector remains one of the strongest performing commodity themes globally, supported by a combination of structural energy transition dynamics and ongoing physically backed investor participation. The sector is also a direct beneficiary of energy focussed geopolitics, though as Western governments enact plans to reduce their reliance on Russian enrichment the widening supply deficit is increasingly the more relevant consideration for investors.
 
Despite recently taking some profits in Nexgen, following its strong performance into its final permit award, the Company remains weighted to developers and Nexgen remains the largest holding. This is to give full participation into future uranium price gains; where the likes of Cameco are largely contracted out for the next 5 years with a degree of fixed pricing, and as a result will not see the full benefit of a stronger priced uranium market. Positioning remains focused on names that will benefit from stronger uranium pricing, and the anticipated upcoming increase in western reactor contracting. We believe these names offer the greatest return through the cycle as they are strategically the most significant for gaining both political and regulatory support.
  
Top 5 Holdings
Nexgen
•               Key catalyst: Federal Permit approved in March 2026.
•               Largest high-grade deposit globally in tier 1 Canadian Athabasca basin.
•               Uncontracted so has full participation in uranium price upside.
•               Scarcity premium for a Tier 1 asset.
 
Ur-Energy
•               Largest US producer.
•               Attractive valuation versus better marketed US peers.
•               High spot uranium participation.
•               Future beneficiary of supportive regulatory backdrop in the US as they need more uranium.
 
Paladin Energy
•               Mostly spot price exposed - well placed for western reactor contracting.
•               Producer in Namibia with development project adjacent to Nexgen in Canada's Athabasca basin.
•               Strong operational turnaround has seen production increase.
 
Cameco
•               The Company is underweight Cameco because it is heavily contracted and therefore will have not have full participation in uranium price upside.
•               Whilst richer in valuation, Cameco remains the go to big liquid name in the sector.
•               Owns 49% of Westinghouse, with its leading AP-1000 reactor design is well placed to benefit from nuclear construction renaissance.
•               Benefitting from strong uranium conversion pricing via exposure in Westinghouse.
 
Denison Mines
•               Canadian uranium explorer and developer.
•               Flagship asset is the Phoenix deposit in the Wheeler River.
•               Strong diverse array of strategic assets including physical uranium holdings.
 
 
CQS (UK) LLP
June 2026
 


Enquiries




Manulife | CQS


Craig Cleland


T: +44 (0) 20 7201 5368
 




Cavendish Capital Markets Limited


Tunga Chigovanyika
(Corporate Finance)
 


T: +44 (0) 20 7397 1915
 










Daniel Balabanoff / Pauline Tribe (Sales)
 


T: +44 (0) 20 7220 0500




Summit Fund Services Jersey Limited


Jane De Barros/Christopher Foulds


T :+44 (0) 1534 825 259




 




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