EnergySolutions Inc. celebrated its first year Friday as a publicly traded company.
But the party couldn't have been very festive. The nuclear-waste company's stock price traded close to its 52-week low at $3.96, a drop of less than 1 percent.
In large part, EnergySolutions executives said last week, turmoil in the financial markets has dragged down the company's future prospects for the time being, just as it has for the other companies in its sector.
At the same time, the company stumbled over a few obstacles that have tempered its freshman-year exuberance. One complicated its efforts to tap into decommissioning funds at nuclear reactors to dispose of large parts. Another, the timing of a secondary offering this summer that allowed majority investors to pull out just as the world-market meltdown was beginning, dampened investors' enthusiasm.
Company executives say they've scaled back expectations, but only for the short run.
"We have a very great company," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer R. Steve Creamer told investors Wednesday, "a company that is well-positioned to be stable through a recession or a flat economy and is ready to blossom with the next economic rebound."
EnergySolutions remains on track to report revenues of up to $1.9 billion and earnings between 50 cents and 60 cents per share this year, executives