Cameco Corporation (CCO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Cameco Corporation Annual Meeting. It's now my pleasure to turn the meeting over to 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. We are pleased that you have joined us for our virtual shareholders meeting that we are conducting from Cameco's head office in Saskatoon. I acknowledge that we are on Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of Métis. Before the start of today's meeting, I will outline the agenda and various procedures and guidelines. In terms of the agenda, following his Numeric, our Chair, Ian Bruce, will call the meeting to order and address various preliminary matters. All the items of business to be voted on will be moved. We will then take questions from registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders on all the items of business. Questions can be submitted by using the messaging platform available on your screen. Normally, shareholders and proxy holders who wish to vote at the meeting would attend the meeting and cast a ballot in person. This year, to vote at the meeting, registered shareholders should have logged into the webcast by entering their 13-digit control number on their proxy form and the password cameco2022, all in lower case with no spaces. Proxy holders, including beneficial owners who appointed themselves as proxy holders should have logged into the webcast by entering the 13-digit control number they received after they appointed themselves as proxy holder and registering with TSX Trust Company and the password cameco2022, again, all in our case with no spaces. If you have logged on properly, the electronic ballot will be displayed. You are encouraged to complete your voting as soon as practical since voting will close 30 seconds after the conclusion of the question-and-answer session. If you have logged on as a guest, you will not be able to vote at the meeting unless you exit the meeting and log back in using your 13-digit control number and the password. Once the formal items of business are moved, we will take questions received through the messaging platform. The legal name of the submitting shareholder or proxy voter will be read aloud before the question is addressed. Questions that are redundant or that have inappropriate language or are otherwise unduly disruptive to the orderly conduct of the meeting will not be at addressed. General shareholder questions that do not directly relate to the meeting's items that business will not be addressed during the meeting but will be followed up on after the meeting. Our meeting today does not include a senior executive presentation. Cameco hosted its first quarter conference call with the company's senior executives just recently on Thursday, May 5, 2022, where we discuss the trends in the market and execution of Cameco's strategy. We took questions from shareholders and others at that time. Our recorded reversion is available on our website. If during the meeting, we encounter any technical difficulties with the webcast, please remain logged on, and we will resume as soon as possible. Please note that this webcast may include forward-looking information that is based on a number of assumptions, and actual results could differ materially. Please refer to our annual information form and MD&A for more information about the factors that could cause these different results and the assumptions we have made. I'll now turn the meeting over to the Chair of Cameco's Board, Ian Bruce.

Thank you, Sean, for outlining today's agenda, procedures and guidelines. And good morning, everyone. I would like to add my welcome to all of you attending online. I hope you and your families are safe and healthy. My fellow directors and I would like to thank all shareholders who voted by proxy and those who are joining the meeting virtually again this year. We appreciate your continued support in protecting the health and safety of our workers, their families and by extension of their communities. Looking back, it was yet another unprecedented year with the challenges created by COVID-19 pandemic. Cameco continued to take proactive measures to protect the health, safety and well-being of its workers, their families and their communities. This included shutting down our Cigar Lake operations for a second time, stepping up communications with employees and implementing additional measures to ensure a continued safe working environment for all, including requiring all employees, contractors and visitors across all our operations and offices to be fully vaccinated. Although the pandemic continued to require a lot of attention and effort, that did not stop Cameco from getting ready for the very bright future we see coming for nuclear energy. To that end, we continue to focus on other areas that will drive value for Cameco. Several initiatives to support our shift to a digital culture are underway, including projects geared towards innovation as well as accelerating the adoption of advanced digital and automation technologies. This will allow us to operate with more flexibility, give us a competitive vantage and strongly position Cameco for future opportunities. We are proud to have advanced all this work while also recording the best safety performance in the company's history and delivering record safety performance for the fourth year in a row. Today, increasing populations and a growing focus on electrification and decarbonization are expected to durably strengthen the long-term fundamentals for our industry. The other issue that has quickly become as critical as climate change and electrification is our energy security, drop to the forefront by the energy crisis experienced in some parts of the world and more recently by the tragic Russian invasion of the Ukraine. This uncertainty in the energy landscape has countries across the world searching more than ever for a stable, reliable and politically dependable fuel supply. All this adds up to an increasing recognition that nuclear power with its clean emissions-free profile, reliable and secure baseload characteristics and low levelized cost has a key role to play in the world's shift to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Cameco is in a great position to benefit from this renewed focus on the nuclear power and the nuclear industry. In 2021, we increased our ownership stake in Global Laser Enrichment LLC and signed a number of arrangements to further explore the commercialization and deployment of small modular reactors in Canada and around the world. Overall, we have great people, great assets a great strategy and a strong balance sheet, all of the ingredients necessary for a bright future energizing a cleaner world. ESG remains a foundational part of the fabric of Cameco and the Board and management are committed to ensuring strong governance and oversight of ESG matters. Having a safe, healthy and rewarding workplace a clean environment and supportive communities are measures of success that are key to how Cameco operates. ESG is integrated into Cameco's strategy and its executive compensation measures. For example, Cameco is committed to inclusion and diversity, both in the workplace and at the management and Board levels. Cameco's Inclusion and Diversity Committee was officially launched in May 2021, and they will serve as ambassadors for the company, promoting programs and initiatives to their coworkers in providing a forum for employees to offer input or ask questions. We are also particularly proud of the work Cameco has done to build strong enduring relationships with its employees and indigenous communities in Northern Saskatchewan where we operate. We have a dedicated team focused on workforce development including a priority focus on digital learning and community engagement in Northern Saskatchewa. Cameco's commitment to making a difference in the communities where our employees live and where we operate also continues. Last fall, we held our third annual step-up for mental health initiatives as a virtual unlock event in support of to Cameco fund for mental health. With the support nearly 4,100 participants, we raised more than $440,000 for mental health projects in Saskatchewan and Ontario. The Board and I continue to have a high level of confidence in Tim Gitzel, Cameco's President and CEO and senior management group and Cameras entire and employee team. We have worked closely with Cameco's senior management team as they navigated through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to execute on all strategic fronts, operational, marketing and financial. I extend the Board's thanks to management for their dedication and leadership during this time. We appreciate their strong efforts in effectively navigating the challenges and uncertainty of COVID-19, while prioritizing the health and safety of workers and people in the communities where we operate. I also want to thank my fellow board members for their dedication over the last year as the company continued to navigate the ongoing pandemic. We have a good mix of skills and experience on our Board, and I can assure you we take our stakeholders' responsibilities seriously. We will now turn to the formal part of the meeting. I'm attending the meeting in Saskatoon, 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. The meeting will now come to order. As Chair of the Board, I will act as Chair of the meeting. Sean Quinn will act as Secretary of the meeting. Cindy Harrett and Odette Ries Bustin of TSX Trust Company have been appointed as scrutineers for this meeting. And 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 for the transaction of business. The first item of business on the agenda is to receive the corporation's 2021 consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report thereon. The financial statements and the auditor's report have been distributed by mail to requesting shareholders and are also available on Cameco's website. To make the best use of our time, I have asked the Corporate Secretary to move the matters which are called for in the notice of meeting. Voting on the applicable items of business to come before today's meeting is being conducted by a single electronic ballot. Voting has been opened since the start of the meeting and will remain open for approximately 30 seconds following the conclusion of the question-and-answer session on the items of business. Once voting closes, the scrutineers will calculate the results of the vote for each matter. All items of business in the management proxy circular will now be moved. The first idea 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 factors of the corporation to hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the Shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act. The nominees are Leontine Atkins, Ian Bruce, Daniel Camus, Donald Deranger, Catherine Gignac, Tim Gitzel, Jim Gowans, Kathryn Jackson and Don Kayne.

The next item of business on the agenda is the appointment of the auditors.

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.

The next item of business is the consideration and approval of the nonbinding advisory resolution accepting the corporation's approach to executive compensation.

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 delivered in advance of the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

We will now take questions from registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders pertaining to the business of the meeting. Sean, please read any comments or questions to be addressed.

Mr. Chair, there are no questions to be addressed. Discussion of the items of business is now closed. Starting now, you have an additional 30 seconds to complete your ballot after which your ballot will be automatically submitted. As a reminder, you can vote for or withhold in respect of each director nominee and the appointment of KPMG and for or against the nonbinding advisory resolution regarding executive compensation. [Voting]

Mr. Chair, the poll is now focused.

As there were no director nominations in accordance with the advanced notice requirements of Cameco's bylaws, the directors are elected by acclamation. Due to the number of proxy votes received, I can advise that the motion for the appointment of the auditors and the resolution on an advisory basis that the shareholders accept the corporation's approach to executive compensation of past. Sean, could you please advise on the vote results?

Thank you, Ian. The preliminary vote report shows support for the advisory vote on executive compensation of at least 97% and support for the appointment of the auditors of at least 86%.

Thank you, Sean. As there is no further business for the meeting, I declare the meeting -- that the meeting is terminated. I would like to thank all of you for attending. 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've ask Sean Quinn to review some of the ways you can get in touch with us.

Thank you, Ian. Our website, cameco.com, is an important and useful source of information. You can access our quarterly disclosures and join quarterly investor webcast and conference calls by navigating to the Invest section of our website. We maintain there an archive of all past investor disclosures. You can also e-mail questions to the Corporate Secretary or our Investor Relations department directly at any time. Contact information for that is available on our website. You are also welcome to mail a confidential letter to the Chair of the Board or the Chair of any Board Committee. Further details on that are set out on Cameco's website and are included in our proxy circular. This now concludes our virtual event. Thank you for your continued support of Cameco.