Yellow Cake (AIM:YCA), in a quarterly update, told investors that its uranium inventory rose in value by 10.8% over Q3, climbing to $2,181.6 million at 30 September from $1,969.7 million at the end of June, as the spot uranium price advanced and newly delivered pounds entered the portfolio.
The London-listed investment company holds physical triuranium octoxide (U3O8) to give shareholders direct exposure to the uranium price, rather than through mining or processing operations.
The uranium spot price ended the quarter at $89.50 per pound, up from $84.85 at 30 June, a rise of 5.5%, with near-term prices strengthening through July and August before easing slightly in September. Longer-term indicators also advanced: the three-year forward price rose 3.0% to $104.00/lb, the five-year forward price climbed 2.8% to $111.00/lb, and the long-term price gained 2.1% to $96.00/lb since June month-end.
Yellow Cake's holdings increased during the quarter from 23.21 million lb to 24.37 million lb of U3O8, following delivery on 11 August of 1.16 million lb from JSC National Atomic Company Kazatomprom to the Orano storage facility in France.
That delivery completed Yellow Cake's previously announced exercise of its 2026 purchase option under its ten-year Framework Agreement with Kazatomprom, at $86.15 per pound for total consideration of $100 million.
Estimated net asset value per share rose 5.0% over the quarter, from £6.34 at 30 June to £6.66 at 30 September, driven primarily by the higher uranium spot price, with a modest contribution from an accretive share buyback and a partial offset from foreign exchange movements. The company's net asset value on 26 October stood at £6.65 per share, or $2,231.8 million, based on its 24.37 million lb holding valued at a daily spot price of $89.85/lb and cash and other net current assets of $41.7 million.
Yellow Cake also completed a share buyback programme during the quarter, purchasing a further 467,976 shares before finishing the $10 million programme on 10 July.
In total, the programme bought back 1.36 million shares at a volume-weighted average price of 544.41p, leaving 257.24 million shares in issue, of which 5.95 million sit in treasury and 251.3 million carry voting rights.
"The third quarter of 2026 highlighted the continued strength of the uranium market and Yellow Cake's market position, with spot prices rising 5.5% to US$89.50/lb and longer-term price indicators advancing across the board," said chief executive Andre Liebenberg.
Liebenberg said the board continues to monitor the gap between Yellow Cake's share price and its net asset value, and is "actively evaluating capital allocation options, including share buybacks, to address this disparity and unlock value, provided such measures do not negatively impact the underlying uranium spot market."
He added that utility contracting remains below annual replacement levels, which the company expects, combined with security-of-supply concerns, to continue supporting long-term uranium prices.
Spot market transaction volumes for the nine months to 30 September totalled approximately 39.5 million lb, around 5% below the 41.7 million lb recorded in the comparable period of 2025.