REG - Geiger Counter Ltd Geiger Counter - GCS - Annual Financial Report

Geiger CounterAnnouncement

24/12/2025 12:15

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20251224:nRSX8691Ma&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 8691M  Geiger Counter Ltd  24 December 2025

 

 

Geiger Counter Limited Plc
(the "Company")

24 December 2025

 

 

 

RELEASE OF REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The Directors announce the release of the Annual Report and Financial
Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025, which are included as an
attachment to this announcement.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8691M_1-2025-12-24.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8691M_1-2025-12-24.pdf)

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT - FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025

 

When I last wrote to Shareholders in the interim report earlier this year
uranium markets were recovering from a period of underperformance. The net
asset value ("NAV") per ordinary share of the Company as at 31 March 2025 was
33.71p compared to 53.93p as at 30 September 2024.  Since then, I am pleased
to report that the momentum in uranium equities has returned, represented by
an improvement in the Company's NAV per ordinary share as at 30 September 2025
to 71.66p, representing an increase of 32.89% for the full year under review.
The Company's share price return has also recovered with the full year share
price appreciation to 30 September 2025 coming in at 32.88%. The discount to
NAV per ordinary share closed at 17.39%.

 

In my opinion the principal reasons for the strong recovery in our NAV per
ordinary share is two fold - first, the world is embracing and recognising the
resurgence in demand for electrical energy, generated by nuclear power
stations, which in turn are fuelled by enriched uranium; second, our highly
experienced and knowledgeable fund managers, have identified the optimal
investment opportunities to benefit from resultant demand growth for uranium.

 

Essentially, the market is unbalanced, in that the fuel supply chain does not
currently have the capacity to meet future demand. We have seen various
attempts to alleviate this supply shortfall with the most notable being the US
Government announcing executive orders in May 2025 to accelerate the
deployment of new nuclear capacity as well as increase funding for the
development of enriching and conversion facilities.

 

The private sector has also invested in nuclear reactor life extensions and
restarts as the power source of choice to power their new AI data centres.
These initiatives along with many others have driven price increases in the
portfolio companies in which we invest. The investment manager's report on
pages 13 to 19 sets out the investment position in more detail.

 

Share Buybacks and Corporate Activity

 

On 11 December 2024, the Company's ordinary shares were admitted to listing in
the closed-ended investment funds category of the Official List of the FCA and
to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The previous
listing on The International Stock Exchange was subsequently cancelled. The
Board anticipates that the Main Market listing will continue to bring the
Company to the attention of a wider group of potential shareholders and
improve liquidity in the Company's shares.

 

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 28,210,360 ordinary shares at a cost of £12.3m.

 

It is disappointing to note that although the Company continues to provide
investors with excellent capital growth over one year (+32.88%), three years
(+49.57%) and five years (+332.02%) to 30 September 2025, the discount has
remained stubbornly wide at times over the last 12 months.  This is not
uncommon in the wider investment company sector and your Board has engaged
with several advisers to try to increase the appeal of the Company's shares
and widen the shareholder base.

 

Since the end of September, the Company has continued to utilise the share
buyback authority and has repurchased a further 8,144,747 shares at a cost of
£4.7m.

 

Subscription Rights

 

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. Shareholders will be sent details of how to subscribe a few weeks prior
to that date.

 

In anticipation of this five year term expiring in April 2026, the Board has
resolved to propose an ordinary resolution for the continuation of the
Subscription Right mechanism on an annual basis thereafter.  If such
resolution is not passed, the Directors will formulate proposals to be put to
Shareholders to amend the Articles in order to remove the Subscription Right.

 

Outlook

 

The recently released, World Nuclear Outlook Report Preview 2025, has
highlighted that Global nuclear capacity could reach 1428 GWe by 2050,
exceeding the 1200 GWe target set in the December 2023. For this and an
abundance of other well telegraphed drivers behind the positive sentiment,
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.

 

 

 

Ian Reeves CBE

Chairman

December 2025

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER'S REPORT - FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025

 

Summary

 

The year 2025 marked a material Nuclear Renaissance over and above what was
already a positive supply/demand dynamic for Uranium miners. According to the
International Energy Agency ("IEA"), global nuclear power capacity is set to
increase by at least one-third to 2035 with over 40 countries having plans in
place to expand the use of this source of power.

 

US energy policy has seen strong support for nuclear, with funding and backing
across the nuclear fuel supply chain, whilst the miners who have the longest
lead times in adjusting supply have been left behind and, in our view, will
increasingly become the bottleneck to fuel supply growth. This should be very
bullish for U(3)O(8) pricing and the companies in which this fund invests.

 

Nuclear power, with its zero-carbon base load power is viewed as an integral
part of the solution for growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centre
demand in the future. This has been seen via announcements (see below) on life
extensions and restarts of existing reactors, with further commitments for a
larger build of America's nuclear fleet. Energy security is paramount for both
the US and China given trade hostilities, as is the development of AI due to
security and technological implications. Cheap reliable energy is the key to
unlocking this geopolitical advantage, which is well understood and adds a
further positive fundamental driver for the Uranium mining sector.

 

China has been way ahead of the west on energy policy and is still building 10
reactors per year, as they have for the last decade, which puts into
perspective the recently announced $80bn investment by the US to construct 10
Westinghouse reactors in the US over multiple years.

 

Nuclear also forms part of the electricity generation plans for high growth
economies such as India where the country has a goal to reach 100 GW of
nuclear power capacity by 2047 (currently 8 GW) as part of its plans to reach
net-zero emissions by 2070.

 

Physical uranium funds returned to substantial purchases, with Sprott Physical
Uranium Trust and latterly Yellow Cake, injecting further momentum and the
U(3)O(8) spot price increased from its April low of $52/lb to $82/lb by
end-September. As a result, sentiment swung decisively positive in the second
half of the year, as illustrated by the Fund's NAV performance which rebounded
148% from its early April low to deliver a 33% gain for the year as a whole.
This was comparable with the sterling return from the North Shore Uranium
Miners Index that focuses on companies that devote 50% of assets to mining,
developing or exploring for uranium.

 

Uranium Supply Demand balance

 

The uranium market is in deficit today and this is set to widen over the next
decade. This was illustrated by this years World Nuclear Association's ("WNA")
Bi-annual supply demand assumption below.

 

New market balance - Sept 2025

 

 

 

It should also be noted that this industry-produced supply demand balance is
an optimistic supply case, which we believe is unrealistic.

 

Firstly the cut off date for the supply assumption was June 2025, and did not
capture production guidance downgrades that occurred after from;

·    Kazatomprom, which warned ongoing acid shortage will likely lead to a
miss on their subsoil approved allowance;

·    Cameco's McArthur River mine in Canada, reducing guidance from
18Mlbspa to 14-15Mlbspa; or

·    Paladin, which reduced guidance for FY26 to 4-4.4Mlbs following
operational issues in ramp up.

 

This also assumes a number of unpermitted mines will come online, that are
unlikely to meet that timeline. Already, we know Cameco will need to buy spot
material in the market simply to cover their production shortfall and deliver
into their existing supply contracts.

 

Small Modular Reactors ("SMR") advancements and the recent US reactor
approvals were given minimal weighting from a demand perspective, which whilst
they may be some years out, supply will need to be contracted years ahead of
ultimate usage given western producers such as Cameco are fully contracted for
the next five years.

 

Big tech and AI adding demand growth

 

Data centres currently account for 2-3% of US power demand but are set to grow
rapidly given the hundreds of billions committed to new AI data centres.
Nuclear, as a zero-carbon base load power, is perfect for the 24/7 operations
whilst maintaining environmental credibility.

 

Incoming nuclear power can be split into two groups: near term reactor life
extension/ restart, and future expansion. Both are positive, but in the near
term it is the restarts and extensions that are most impactful on uranium spot
price.

 

Some examples include;

•               Meta (Facebook): 20 year power deal with US
utility Constellation;

•               Microsoft: 20 year deal with Constellation to
restart Three Mile Island;

•               Google: 7 SMR build with Kairos;

•               Amazon: $350m deal with Talen Energy & SMR
partnership with Dominion Energy; and

•               Equinix / Oracle: investing in SMR's.

Geopolitics removing access to nuclear fuel for western reactors

 

Fears of a US-Russian thawing of tensions and possible easing of the nuclear
fuel supply chain weighed heavily on sentiment during the first quarter of
2025. Current waivers allow Russian material to remain in circulation until
the end of 2027, but western utilities remain focused on finding other sources
of supply. Relations with Russia have since soured, with Putin refusing Trumps
request for a ceasefire, leading to further US sanctions against state-owned
Russian oil producers Lukoil and Rosneft. Russian material will increasingly
head to China; given geopolitics and energy security requirements, China will
likely buy and store all available material they can, effectively removing it
from availability for western reactors.

 

 

The geopolitical strategic relevance is highlighted by the Russia/China
influence dominated supply chain, versus the western weighted global reactor
fleet. It is notable that the majority of Kazakhstan's uranium heads to China
or Russia, given both the major land borders and China/Russia controlling
approximately 70% of global conversion and enrichment.

 

 

Outlook - Utilities must increase purchases or risk reactor shutdowns

 

According to the IEA more than 40 countries now include nuclear energy in
their strategies and are taking steps to develop new projects. There are
estimated to be more than 70 GW of new capacity under construction currently,
one of the highest levels in 30 years.

 

With the uranium supply deficit expected to widen, western utilities also
currently have exceptionally low inventories and limited sources of available
supply, and thus face possible fuel shortages over the next decade. This
compounds the risks faced by nuclear power generators. This is especially the
case in the US, where they currently stand precariously low with just 14
months of reactor needs, according to the latest information from the Energy
Information Administration ("EIA").

 

Western government energy policy reforms, driven by both Net Zero concerns and
ambitions of supply chain resilience, continue to have a marked impact on the
nuclear power sector. As the largest nuclear power market currently, nowhere
is reform more evident than in the US. In 2024 the US relied on imports for
the supply of 90% of reactor needs, with Russia supplying approximately 20% of
enriched fuel used in US reactors. In this context, western exploration,
development and production of uranium for nuclear power is highly
incentivised.

 

Accompanying supportive shifts in nuclear energy policies around the world,
considerable funding is being directed at the sector to alleviate supply chain
challenges. While this includes bottlenecked conversion and enrichment stages
of the fuel manufacturing process, the relative absence of upstream financing
for uranium miners which have endured decades of underinvestment, leaves
U(3)O(8) supply increasingly looking like a bottleneck over coming years.

 

In this regard Canada is prominent in its promotion of strategic energy
projects, of which NexGen's Arrow project is a prime example. Coinciding with
affirmative US action to develop regional new nuclear generating capacity, the
combination of constrained supply, pick-up in global reactor roll-outs and
favourable nuclear policy reforms continues to highlight the positive secular
growth outlook.

 

US policy increasingly supportive of nuclear

 

US/China trade tensions have supported proactive policies towards nuclear
power and critical minerals more widely, boosting investor interest in the
uranium mining sector. Nuclear power is a key component of the US AI strategy
and broader reindustrialisation policies of the US.

 

Specific to the nuclear power industry, Executive Orders were announced in Q2
to accelerate deployment of new nuclear capacity to help meet the ambitious
plans to quadruple national generating capacity to 400GW by 2050. Since, the
US government has also streamlined the regulatory approvals process, provided
financing for the development of enrichment and conversion facilities along
with some funding to help development of new reactor technologies.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration has removed many incentives
previously available to variable wind and solar generation, underscoring
prioritisation of nuclear for Net Zero.

 

Elsewhere, the US government's direct investment into rare earth metals
developer MP Minerals, accompanied by an agreement to guarantee premium prices
for its products, spurred sentiment directly into rare earth related sectors.
Often geologically associated with uranium, this also fed through to boost
interest in the uranium mining sector. Notable beneficiaries of this sentiment
included fund holding Energy Fuels which is seeking to develop some rare earth
production capability at its White Mesa Mill alongside its prospective uranium
activities.

 

While there has been considerable focus on US nuclear power policies it is
also helpful that Japan's new prime minister is pushing to accelerate the
revival of nuclear power in the region to help lower the inflationary
pressures resulting from the importation of costly fuel imports, which in 2024
represented 10% of its total import spending with imported LNG and coal behind
60-70% of Japan's electricity generation.

 

Performance

 

The largest contributions to performance were from US in-situ miner Ur-Energy,
Athabasca developer Nexgen and US uranium and rare earth developer Energy
Fuels, whose share prices increased 148%, 55% and 294% respectively over the
period. The Company has since divested its holding of UEC, following its
strong performance and given the relatively opaque plans for its proposed
development of conversion capacity, which make it difficult to value. For
Energy Fuels, expectations that the US government could possibly copy its
approach to investment in rare earth developer MP Minerals, whose share price
has risen around 150% over the same period, drove the rerating. Such
investment could allow the group to scale-up operations from its pilot plant
which has produced small quantities of heavy rare earth metals.

 

Positioning

 

The Company remains weighted to developers relative to the uranium mining
sector, with Nexgen as the largest component. 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,
they will not see the full benefit of a stronger priced uranium market. The
Company is underweight Cameco relative to the sector primarily for this
reason, but also because Cameco are trading at a material premium at around 2x
P/NPV, versus Nexgen at a closer to 1x at spot.

 

Positioning is thus 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. The focus on value over liquidity, we believe, presents the most
attractive risk reward position.

 

 

Top 5 Holdings

 

Nexgen

·    Key catalyst: Federal Permit hearing in February 26 - full permit
should support a rerate.

·    Largest high-grade deposit globally in tier 1 Canadian Athabasca
basin.

·    Already has provincial permit and first nations support.

·    Uncontracted so has full participation in uranium price upside.

·    Tier 1 jurisdiction - Canada Athabasca Basin.

·    Parallel system discovered and depth extension not in market
valuation assumptions.

 

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.

·    Attractive valuation.

 

Cameco

·    The Company is underweight Cameco.

·    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.

 

Energy Fuels

·    US producer of ~2M lbspa, with White Mesa Mill in Utah.

·    Further expansion projects in the pipeline.

·    Rare Earth and Vanadium resources as well make strategically
important to US.

·    US government funding for domestic rare earth supply with MP
Materials may provide route for Energy Fuels support.

 

 

 

Robert Crayfourd and Keith Watson

CQS (UK) LLP

December 2025

 

 

 

 

Enquiries

 Manulife | CQS                       Craig Cleland                              T: +44 (0) 20 7201 5368

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited    Tunga Chigovanyika                         T: +44 (0) 20 7220 0557

                                      (Corporate Finance)

                                      Daniel Balabanoff / Pauline Tribe (Sales)  T: +44 (0) 20 7220 0500

 Summit Fund Services Jersey Limited  Christopher Foulds                         T :+44 (0) 1534 825 219

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  FR PKQBKBBDDABB



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved