Mr. Tim Gitzel reports

CAMECO ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER RESULTS; TIER-ONE TRANSITION CONTINUES TO DRIVE GROSS PROFIT IMPROVEMENT; AMPLIFIED SECURITY OF SUPPLY CONCERNS BENEFIT FULL-YEAR REVENUE OUTLOOK; DECADE-HIGH INDUSTRY CONTRACTING VOLUME ACHIEVED; DIVIDEND DECLARED

Cameco Corp. has released its consolidated financial and operating results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023, in accordance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS).

"Our third quarter financial performance continues to demonstrate the benefits of our strategic decisions and the significant, positive momentum we are experiencing in the nuclear energy industry. We have again increased our consolidated revenue outlook for 2023, which is driven by higher average realized prices as a result of substantial uranium spot price improvements. Gross profits have also improved as our uranium average unit cost of sales decreased from last year as we continue the transition back to our Tier 1 production cost structure," said Tim Gitzel, Cameco's president and chief executive officer.

"I am pleased to announce that effective Nov. 1, Dominic Kieran is joining Cameco's executive group as global managing director of our subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Dominic brings extensive international executive experience in the nuclear fuel, chemical and broader technology industries, which will enhance the skill set of our strong and experienced leadership group. His wide-ranging expertise will help facilitate Cameco's growth across the nuclear value chain.

"The world's desire for clean, secure and low-cost energy is creating a foundation of support for nuclear energy from across the public and political spectrum. This increase in support, coupled with the geopolitical uncertainty brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a coup in Niger, has intensified supply concerns as future uranium supply and downstream processing is needed to balance the market. In the short term, supply chain issues and inflation risks are causing production challenges for current operators. Compared to previous price cycles, the market does not have the inventory or secondary supplies to absorb market shocks.

"We are seeing durable, full-cycle demand growth across the nuclear energy industry. These factors lead us to believe that we are experiencing the industry's best ever market fundamentals. These dynamics have also led the World Nuclear Association (WNA) to increase its demand forecast in their latest nuclear fuel report to an average annual growth rate of 3.6 per cent, compared to 2.6 per cent in the 2021 report. Furthermore, the WNA has issued a call to action to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 to help the global drive to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our customers understand that we are a proven, reliable supplier operating across the nuclear fuel cycle and recognize our deep understanding of how nuclear fuel markets work. The important role we play in our industry is also being recognized on the international stage. In September, I had the honour of meeting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Trudeau in Toronto where the President thanked us for helping Ukraine in its efforts to regain energy independence and we renewed Cameco's commitment to working with them. In October, reinforcing our commitment to Energoatom, I joined a Cameco delegation to visit our partners at their head offices in Ukraine.

"Also in September, Cameco was invited to participate in the OECD's inaugural Roadmaps to New Nuclear conference. This conference of government and industry leaders met with the intention of building leadership and co-operation in nuclear energy. In November, we are participating in the International Atomic Energy Agency's Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Energy to advise the agency's long-term nuclear power and nuclear fuel cycle activities. These are proud moments for us at Cameco that highlight the impact that our work is having around the world.

"We are a responsible, commercial supplier with a strong balance sheet, long-lived, Tier 1 assets and a proven operating track record, and are returning to our Tier 1 cost structure. We are invested across the nuclear fuel cycle and continue to work toward closing the Westinghouse acquisition with our partner Brookfield and its publicly listed affiliate Brookfield Renewable Partners and its institutional partners by the end of this year, at which time we look forward to being able to discuss the exciting prospects we see for that business. We will continue to do what we said we would do, executing on our strategy, and, consistent with our values, we will do so in a manner we believe will make our business sustainable over the long term."

• Q3 net earnings of $148-million; adjusted net earnings of $137-million: Results reflect normal quarterly variations in contract deliveries. Gross profit improved due to lower unit costs in the company's uranium segment and a higher average realized price as its market-related contracts benefited from increases in the uranium spot price relative to a year ago. We had unrealized foreign exchange gains of $54-million on our US dollar cash balances in the quarter. Cameco must treat its foreign currency cash balances as though they are converted to Canadian dollars at the exchange rate at the end of the quarter. The unrealized gains in the quarter were primarily due to higher-than-normal U.S.-dollar cash balances, being held for the pending acquisition of Westinghouse, and a weakened Canadian dollar relative to at the end of the second quarter. Cameco does not adjust net earnings for these gains. Adjusted net earnings is a non-IFRS measure.
• Strong performance in the uranium and fuel services segments and improving 2023 consolidated revenue outlook: Results for the first nine months of the year reflect the impact of higher sales volumes and average realized prices in both the uranium and fuel services segments under the company's long-term contract portfolio. In its uranium segment Cameco has delivered 22.2 million pounds, in line with the delivery pattern disclosed in its annual management's discussion and analysis, at an average realized price 13 per cent higher than in the same period last year. In its fuel services segment, sales were 7 per cent higher than in the first nine months of 2022 and at an average realized price 9 per cent higher. With improving market fundamentals, for 2023 Cameco has increased its consolidated revenue outlook to between $2.43-billion and $2.58-billion (previously $2.38-billion and $2.53-billion), which is primarily driven by higher expected average realized prices under the company's contract portfolio. In addition, Cameco has updated its average unit cost of sales. See outlook for 2023 in the company's third quarter MD&A for more information.
• Long-term contracting success continues while maintaining exposure to higher prices: As of Sept. 30, 2023, Cameco had commitments requiring delivery of an average of about 29 million pounds per year from 2023 through 2027, an increase from an average of about 28 million pounds per year at the end of June. It also has contracts in its uranium and fuel services segments that span more than decade, and in its uranium segment, many of those contracts benefit from market-related pricing mechanisms. In addition, Cameco has a large and growing pipeline of business under discussion, which it expects will help further build its long-term contract portfolio. Total industry long-term contracting volumes to date in 2023 have already exceeded the volume of each of the last 10 years, a strong indication that a new long-term contracting cycle is under way.
• Joint venture Inkai shipments: The first shipment containing approximately two-thirds of Cameco's share of Inkai's 2023 production is currently in transit. The company expects the shipment to arrive before the end of 2023. The second shipment with the remaining volume of its share of 2023 production is expected to depart before the end of the year and arrive in early 2024. Cameco continues to work closely with JV Inkai and its joint venture partner, Kazatomprom, to receive its share of production via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which does not rely on Russian rail lines or ports. Cameco could experience further delays to its expected Inkai deliveries this year if transportation using this shipping route takes longer than anticipated. To mitigate the risk of delays, the company has inventory, long-term purchase agreements and loan arrangements in place it can draw on. Depending on when the company receives shipments of its share of Inkai's production, Cameco's share of earnings from this equity-accounted investee and the timing of the receipt of its share of dividends from the joint venture may be impacted.
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax dispute: In October, Cameco received $12-million from CRA for disbursements related to the September, 2018, tax court decision and cost award, which is in addition to the $10-million it received from CRA in April, 2021, as reimbursement for legal fees. See transfer pricing dispute in the company's third quarter MD&A for more information.
• Licence renewals in Northern Saskatchewan: In October, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission renewed the licences for McArthur River, Key Lake and Rabbit Lake. Cameco is pleased to receive 20-year licences for McArthur River and Key Lake and a 15-year licence for Rabbit Lake. The company believes that its commitment to protecting the health and safety of its employees, the public and the environment is reflected in the extended duration of the licences.
• Strong balance sheet: As of Sept. 30, 2023, Cameco had $2.7-billion in cash and cash equivalents and $1-billion in total debt. In addition, the company has a $1-billion undrawn credit facility which matures Oct. 1, 2027.
• Dividend: The board of directors declared a 2023 annual dividend of 12 cents per common share, payable on Dec. 15, 2023, to shareholders of record on Nov. 30, 2023. The decision to declare an annual dividend is reviewed regularly by the board in the context of Cameco's cash flow, financial position, strategy and other relevant factors, including appropriate alignment with the cyclical nature of the company's earnings. In 2022, the board increased the dividend by 50 per cent to reflect the expected improvement in Cameco's financial performance as it began the transition to its Tier 1 run rate. Until such time as Cameco returns to its Tier 1 cost structure, the objective of its capital allocation will be to ensure the company has the financial capacity to execute on its strategy, including achieving production at McArthur River/Key Lake in accordance with its plan and closing the pending acquisition of Westinghouse. Cameco will continue to navigate by its investment-grade rating through close management of its balance sheet metrics, maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet its risk-mitigated working cash target and that allows the company to pursue other value-adding opportunities.
• Addition to executive group: Effective Nov. 1, 2023, Mr. Kieran has been appointed global managing director for Cameco U.K. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cameco. Mr. Kieran brings over 20 years of leadership experience to Cameco. Most recently he served as chief executive officer with Babcock Nuclear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock International. Previously, he was with Urenco for 15 years in increasingly senior leadership roles, including chief commercial officer, and gained a wealth of experience from his diverse responsibilities. He holds an MBA from the Henley Business School and a master's in engineering from the University of London. He is a chartered engineer and a fellow of the U.K. Institute of Chemical Engineers and the U.K. Nuclear Institute. "I am looking forward to working with an excellent team to advance Cameco's vision of energizing a clean-air world. The transition to a clean and secure energy world is our imperative and I look forward to helping this transition with Cameco," said Mr. Kieran.

Management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) and financial statements

The third quarter MD&A and unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements provide a detailed explanation of Cameco's operating results for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2023, as compared with the same periods last year. This news release should be read in conjunction with these documents, as well as the company's audited consolidated financial statements and notes for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, first quarter, second quarter and annual MD&A, and the company's most recent annual information form, all of which are available on Cameco's website, on SEDAR+ and on EDGAR.

Qualified persons

The technical and scientific information discussed in this document for the company's material properties McArthur River/Key Lake, Cigar Lake and Inkai was approved by the following individuals who are qualified persons for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101:

McArthur River/Key Lake:

• Greg Murdock, general manager, McArthur River, Cameco;
• Daley McIntyre, general manager, Key Lake, Cameco.

Cigar Lake:

• Lloyd Rowson, general manager, Cigar Lake, Cameco.

Inkai:

• Sergey Ivanov, deputy director general, technical services, Cameco Kazakhstan LLP.

Conference call

Cameco invites you to join its third quarter conference call on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, at 8 a.m. Eastern Time.

The call will be open to all investors and the media. To join the call, please dial 800-319-4610 (Canada and United States) or 604-638-5340. An operator will put your call through. The slides and a live webcast of the conference call will be available from a link on Cameco's website. See the link on the company's home page on the day of the call.

A recorded version of the proceedings will be available:

• On Cameco's website shortly after the call;
• On postview until midnight, Eastern Time, Nov. 30, 2023, by calling 800-319-6413 (Canada and U.S.) or 604-638-9010 (passcode 0376).

2023 fourth quarter and annual report release date

Cameco plans to announce its 2023 fourth quarter and annual consolidated financial and operating results before markets open on Feb. 8, 2024. Announcement dates are subject to change.

About Cameco Corp.

Cameco is one of the largest global providers of the uranium fuel needed to energize a clean-air world. Its competitive position is based on the company's controlling ownership of the world's largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations. Utilities around the world rely on Cameco's nuclear fuel products to generate safe, reliable, carbon-free nuclear power. The company's shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Its head office is in Saskatoon, Sask., Canada.

We seek Safe Harbor.