Canadian Solar outperforms in Q2

Aug 18, 2016 19:10 CEST by Plamena Tisheva

August 18 – Photovoltaic (PV) panel maker Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) today reported a net profit of USD 40.4 million (EUR 36.7m) for the second quarter of 2016, up from USD 17.9 million a year ago.

Earnings per diluted share rose to USD 0.68 from USD 0.31.

“We benefited from a combination of strong demand for our modules, better than expected selling prices and solid cost control at our factories,” said chief financial officer Huifeng Chang.

Net revenue rose 26.6% year-on-year to USD 805.9 million, exceeding the company’s guidance. Module shipments recognized in revenue and gross margin were also above guidance, coming in at 1,290 MW and 17.2%, respectively. Gross margin was up from 15.6% in the preceding quarter and and 15.2% in the year-ago period.

“Our strategic decision to no longer pursue a YieldCo reflects the market environment and our primary focus on extracting the highest value for shareholders from our operating assets,” said chairman and chief executive Shawn Qu. He added the company’s energy business now had 472 MWp of solar power plants in operation and about 900 MWp that would become operational in the second half of 2016. “We are actively pursuing several regional options to monetize these assets in the second half of 2016 and 2017,” he said.

Canadian Solar kept its full-year guidance for module shipments of 5.4 GW to 5.5 GW, with 5 GW recognized in revenue, as well as its revenue forecast of USD 3 billion to USD 3.2 billion. It said it could exceed the revenue guidance depending on the timing of monetisation sales.

For the third quarter, it expects total solar module shipments of 1.2 GW to 1.3 GW, total revenue of USD 660 million to USD 710 million, and gross margin of 14% to 16%.

The company also said it had decided to slow down solar module capacity expansion and now expected to have internal module capacity of 5.8 GW by the end of 2016, compared to 6.4 GW previously. Cell manufacturing capacity is expected to reach 3.05 GW, with a 850-MW plant in South Eastern Asia that will come online in September, offset by a 1-GW temporary capacity reduction at the company’s tornado affected factory in Funing, China. The company’s wafer manufacturing capacity is expected to reach 1.3 GW by the end of 2016.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.909)

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