BETHESDA, Md. – Shareholders attending today’s annual meeting of USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) heard Chairman James R. Mellor report on the Board of Directors’ continued strong emphasis on corporate governance. President and CEO William H. Timbers reported on the company’s 2003 performance and its focus on building and operating the American Centrifuge.

Mellor said USEC had a mindset of accountability from its days as a federal corporation with extensive reporting requirements to agencies and the Congress. “This corporate culture continues today as we have seized the opportunity to set into place the best practices for corporate governance,” Mellor said.

The chairman noted that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently rated USEC’s corporate governance practices as outperforming 97.4 percent of the companies in the Russell 3000 index. “We appreciate this clear, unbiased endorsement of the direction we’ve established for USEC,” Mellor added.

The Board’s independence, annual elections of the entire board, stock ownership guidelines for directors and company officers, and shareholder approval of management incentive plans were among the factors cited by ISS for its positive review, he noted. “We recognize that the example set by the Board and senior management sets the tone for all employees, which is why we have raised the corporate governance bar so high,” Mellor said.

Timbers reported that USEC’s gross profits rose by 79 percent in 2003; efficiency gains had lowered the cost of production at the Paducah, Kentucky plant; and that $2.1 billion in future sales had been added to USEC’s backlog.

Shareholders were also updated by Timbers on USEC’s progress in deploying the American Centrifuge technology. He noted that a demonstration facility is expected to be in operation in 2005 and that USEC will apply for an operating license for the commercial plant in Piketon, Ohio this summer. “The American Centrifuge will play a major role in supporting our nation’s energy security and national security interests while providing a reliable, competitive fuel source for nuclear plants around the world,” he said.

Timbers noted that recent announcements by three alliances of utilities and leading companies that support nuclear generation, including USEC, has created a sense of optimism in the industry that new commercial nuclear power reactors may again be built in the United States. In addition, nuclear power is recognized for generating the lowest cost electricity in America, is the clean-air power choice and is gaining renewed acceptance by the public.

“We believe all these factors add up to long-term demand for our product, which is why we are investing today in the American Centrifuge technology,” he said.

Timbers said that during USEC’s first five years as a publicly traded company, management had focused on making fundamental structural changes to lower its costs structure and improve pricing for its enriched uranium product. With the business now restructured, USEC is seeking to expand and diversify the business through acquisitions or business combinations in the energy industry.

“As we look to the future and the growth strategies for our Company, we never forget our commitment to maximize shareholder value. Our goal in this area is unchanged: we are focused on increasing revenue, growing net income and improving returns on equity through a diversification strategy,” Timbers said.

Shareholders at the annual meeting voted on five items. Eight incumbent members of the Board of Directors were reelected for a one-year term. The firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers was ratified as USEC’s independent auditors for 2004. An amendment to the 1999 Equity Incentive Plan was approved. Shareholders did not approve two shareholder proposals.

To read a complete copy of remarks by Mellor and Timbers, please go to USEC’s website, www.usec.com in the Newsroom section under Speeches.

This news release contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainty, including certain assumptions regarding the future performance of USEC. Actual results and trends may differ materially depending upon a variety of factors, including, without limitation, market demand for USEC’s products, pricing trends in the uranium and enrichment markets, deliveries under the Russian Contract, the availability and cost of electric power, implementing agreements with the Department of Energy (“DOE”) regarding uranium inventory remediation and the use of centrifuge technology and facilities, satisfactory performance of the American Centrifuge technology at various stages of demonstration, USEC's ability to successfully execute its internal performance plans, the refueling cycles of USEC’s customers, final determinations of environmental and other costs, the outcome of litigation and trade actions, performance under government contracts, and the impact of any government regulation. Revenue and operating results can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter, and in some cases, year to year.

USEC Inc., a global energy company, is the world’s leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

###