OREANDA-NEWS. December 19, 2007. The MSZ's profits for 2007 would amount up to RUR8.6bn, Oleg Kryukov, the Director General of JSC Mashinostroitelny Zavod (MSZ), said to a press conference devoted to review of the plant's performance preliminary results, the press service of TVEL reported. This is by 6.75% higher than in the last year and by 14.7% more than in 2005.

According to the preliminary data, the enterprise.s net profit was RUR812m that is 23% more than last year (RUR659m). The Director General said the year performance results showed that investments to procure new equipment and process automation were RUR1.3bn. In particular, RUR700m-cost of new equipment have been commissioned. Many of new processes have been put on line to include: an upgraded automatic line for fabrication of fuel rods for BN-600 reactor and the Chinese research reactor CEFR; an installation for automatic loading and transportation of fuel pellets in molybdenum pallets; a bench for bundling fuel rods for VVER-1000 reactors; pellet pallet-based packaging and storage set and other equipment. All these will reduce production costs.

In 2007, the plant produced the first batch of fuel pellets for the British Sizewell nuclear power plant (NPP) and four fuel assembly dummies for floating NPPs and two TVSA-T dummies for Temelin NPP (the Czech Republic). It has also developed a fabrication process of titanium tubes for the Kaluga Turbine Plant, which are unique for this country.

Large work was done to design and master the fabrication technology of a new "uncased" fuel assembly for the third generation VVER-440s. According to preliminary calculations, the use of this fuel design in the reactor cores will improve economics of fuel campaigns by 5% for the consumers. Besides, the work was carried out to reduce the list of components parts of VVER-440 fuel (plugs and fuel cladding) that is to reduce the cost of the products.

An average salary at the plant increased by 12% to make RUR21,800 per month. Higher output and reduction of current expenditures allowed raising the salary fund by RUR120m and paying bonuses of 1.5 up to 2 times of average salaries to the plant employees.
The plant social programs for workers received about RUR400m. The plant allocated over RUR70m to develop the city infrastructure, including district heating from the plant.s boiler (RUR55m).

Next year the plant plans to sell products to cost RUR9.4bn. With that, a net profit should be over RUR1bn and an average salary should amount up to over RUR26,000 per month.