Bethesda-based USEC, a company that supplies uranium to nuclear power plants, announced first-quarter profits of $39.3 million, up $4.7 million from the same period last year.

First-quarter revenues were also up $103.7 million from last year to $465 million.

These gains in revenue and profits, however, were tempered by increased expenses at USEC's American Centrifuge project, a plant in Ohio with the ability to enrich uranium.

The installation of a new cascade system drove expenses to $16.1 million, more than double the same period last year.

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The company also saw a spike in the money it spent to power its Paducah, Ky., gaseous diffusion plant. A 50 percent increase in the cost of energy forced the company to spend $55.4 million more for power than the same time last year.

“Spending on American Centrifuge was higher, reflecting our work to prepare the Piketon facility for commercial plant construction and to assemble and install the first American Centrifuge machines that will make up the Lead Cascade,” said John Welch, president and chief executive officer of USEC. “We are on track to begin Lead Cascade operations in mid-2007 and meet our revised performance milestone with the Department of Energy.”