Cameco Corporation (CCO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Cameco Corporation Annual Meeting Webcast. Now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Mr. Sean Quinn, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Quinn, the floor is yours.

Thank you, operator, and welcome to everyone attending today. I note that while this is not a virtual shareholders meeting, we have encouraged shareholders to join by webcast rather than by attending in person. This webcast does feature a submit questions tab, and we will respond to questions received following the meeting. I will now turn the meeting over to the Chair of our Board, Mr. Ian Bruce.

Thank you, Sean, and good morning to all. I would like to add my welcome to everyone attending today. This is an extraordinary time and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is something that is creating unprecedented challenges and changes for all of us. My fellow directors and I would like to thank all shareholders who voted by proxy and are, like me, joining the meeting virtually. We appreciate your help in protecting the health and safety of our employees, their families and by extension, their communities. I also want to acknowledge everyone who is working on the front lines to save lives, keep us safe and ensure we have the services essential for our daily lives. Cameco is also playing an important role as it continues to provide fuel to power nuclear reactors, which in turn, are part of the critical infrastructure needed to ensure hospitals, care facilities and other essential services are available during this pandemic. Your Board has had a number of unscheduled meetings in the past 6 weeks, both formally and informally, to receive updates from Cameco's senior management team as first it formulated its COVID-19 response plans. Then executed on those plans and then made the difficult decisions regarding placing mines and facilities into care and maintenance. I want to thank my fellow board members for their close and continuous attention to these matters during this challenging time and as well as the input they brought from their experiences elsewhere. The Board and I have a high level of confidence in Tim Gitzel, Cameco's President and CEO, its senior management group and Cameco's entire employee team. I would like to extend the Board's thanks to management for their dedication and leadership during this COVID-19 situation, for being proactive in protecting our employees and for helping to slow the spread of the virus. I'm also proud that Cameco continues its commitment to making a difference. Being socially responsible is a core value at Cameco and has been for years. Cameco is continuing to provide compensation for its employees who are not working. Within communities, Cameco's donations of masks, gloves, equipment and other goods have helped many people in Saskatchewan and in Ontario. In addition, Cameco has created a $1 million COVID-19 relief fund, which will help not for profits, charities, communities and First Nations from Saskatoon through Northern Saskatchewan navigate during this very difficult time. I'm attending the meeting virtually today, and I'm joined by Tim Gitzel, Cameco's President and CEO; and Sean Quinn, Cameco's Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. All of Cameco's directors and other senior officers are joining on the webcast or on a dedicated phone line. To make this process smoother, I have asked Tim Gitzel, Cameco's President and CEO, to Chair this meeting; and Sean Quinn will act as Secretary. I will now turn the meeting over to Tim Gitzel. Thank you.

Well, thank you, Ian, and thanks to all of our Board members for your strong and unwavering support through these challenging times. Let's get started. Nazim Nathoo of AST Trust Company Canada has been appointed as Scrutineer for this meeting. The secretary has advised that we have quorum for the meeting. The Secretary has an affidavit attesting to the mailing of the notice of meeting. I now declare this annual meeting to be regularly convened and properly constituted. To make the best use of our time, I have asked the corporate secretary to move the proposals, which are called for in the notice of meeting. Voting on the items of business set out in the notice of meeting will be by ballot. Mr. Quinn will give instructions on use of the ballot. Sean?

Thank you, Tim. Shareholders entitled to vote with ballot form were provided with them when they entered the meeting. And those shareholders who have already voted by proxy need not complete a ballot since their proxy vote will be voted by their proxy holder.

The first item of business on the agenda is to receive the corporation's 2019 consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report. The financial statements and the auditor's report have been distributed by mail to requesting shareholders and are also available on Cameco's website. The next item of business is the election of directors. Sean, could you please propose the nominees for election?

I move that the proposed nominees as listed in the management proxy circular accompanying the notice of meeting be nominated as directors of the corporation to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed as the case may be. Move, Donald Deranger, Catherine Gignac; Tim Gitzel, Jim Gowans, Kathryn Jackson, Don Kayne and Anne McLellan.

Thank you, Sean. As no other nominations have been received by Cameco in accordance with our bylaws, the directors are elected by acclamation. On behalf of our Chair here and Bruce and the entire corporation, let me take this opportunity to say how pleased I am that you will continue to provide Cameco with your sound judgment and advice. The next item of business is the appointment of auditors. Sean, will you please make the motion?

I move that KPMG LLP be appointed as auditors of the corporation until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until a successor is appointed.

Thank you, Sean. Due to the number of proxy votes, I can advise that the motion has passed. The next item of business is to pass, on an advisory basis, a resolution that the shareholders accept the corporation's approach to executive compensation. Sean?

I move, on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Board of Directors for executive compensation, that the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in Cameco's management proxy circular that was delivered in advance of the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Again, due to the number of proxy votes, I can advise that the motion has passed.

I will receive a final report from the Scrutineer following the meeting, and the final vote results will be posted on our website as soon as practical.

Thank you, Sean. We have now reached the end of this meeting. There being no further business, may I have a motion terminating this meeting.

I move the meeting now terminate.

I declare that the meeting has now terminated. That concludes today's meeting. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of my fellow directors and officers and all of Cameco's employees for their support and dedication over the past year and especially, over the past 6 weeks. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of Cameco's shareholders for your support. Your ability to engage with our Board and management team is important to us. Before we sign off, I'd ask our Corporate Secretary, Sean Quinn, to review some of the ways that you can get in touch with us.

Thank you, Tim. Our website, cameco.com, is an important source of shareholder information and contact details. Shareholders can access our quarterly disclosures and join quarterly investor webcasts and conference calls. You can access these in the Invest section of our website. In addition, we maintain a complete archive of all past investor disclosures. You can also e-mail questions to the Corporate Secretary or to our Investor Relations department directly at any time. Every Cameco webcast, including this one, features a submit question tab, and as I stated at the beginning of the meeting, Cameco will respond to questions received following each event. Shareholders are also welcome to mail a confidential letter to the Chair of the Board or the Chair of any of the Board committees. Further details are set out on Cameco's website and are included in our proxy circular. This now concludes our webcast event. We again thank all of our shareholders for your continued support of Cameco.

Thank you.