News Article
First Solar Not So Sunny with Reduced Net Sales of $610 million
Quarterly net sales of the CdTe solar cell manufacturer decreased from $641 million in Q4 2009, due to decreased systems revenue and reduced module prices, partially offset by higher volume.
First Solar has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.
Fourth quarter 2010 net sales were $610 million, a decrease of $188 million from the third quarter of 2010, primarily due to the timing of system sales and the December implementation of 2011 pricing, partially offset by an increase in volume.
Quarterly net sales decreased slightly from $641 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, due to decreased systems revenue and reduced module prices, partially offset by higher volume. Net sales for the fiscal year 2010 were $2,564 million, up 24% from $2,066 million in fiscal year 2009.
Fourth quarter net income per fully diluted share was $1.80, down from $2.04 in the third quarter of 2010 and up from $1.65 in the fourth quarter of 2009. Quarter over quarter, the net income decrease was primarily driven by lower net sales and increased expenses, partially offset by higher gross margins.
Year over year, the net income increase was primarily driven by higher module production and lower module cost per watt, partially offset by reduced module average selling prices and increased expenses. Fiscal 2010 net income per fully diluted share was $7.68, up from $7.53 in fiscal 2009.
"In the fourth quarter the operations team executed well, and we sold 400 MW of projects in North America, positioning us to achieve our 2011 growth goals," said Rob Gillette, CEO of First Solar. "We have good demand visibility in 2011 and a broader geographic reach, which gives us confidence in our ability to sell the 2 GW that we plan to produce."
For 2011, First Solar is updating guidance as follows:
* Net sales of $3.7 to $3.8 billion
* Operating income of $910 to $980 million
* Earnings per fully diluted share of $9.25 to $9.75
* Includes $60 to $70 million of manufacturing start-up expenses and $15 to $20 million of factory ramp costs
* Total capital spending of $1.0 to $1.1 billion
* Operating cash flow of $1.0 to $1.1 billion
First Solar discussed these results and the outlook for 2011 in a conference call.
An audio replay of the conference call is available until Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. EST and can be accessed by dialling
888-203-1112 (from within the U.S.) or 719-457-0820 (from outside the U.S.)
and entering the replay pass code 8382775.