News & Analysis » US

Canadian Solar Q2 Profit Plunges - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Solar cell maker Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) Thursday reported a sharp decline in second quarter profit, hurt primarily by an exchange loss in the period. On a per share basis, earnings were below market expectations. Further, the company issued shipment guidance for third quarter, while reiterating full year shipment guidance.

For the quarter, the company said net income attributable to Canadian Solar was down to $3.22 million or $0.07 per share from $17.67 million or $0.49 per share last year. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.15 per share. Analyst's estimates typically exclude special items.

Net revenues for the three months surged to $328.68 million from $114.18 million last year. Market expectation was for revenues of $305.66 million for the period.

Shipments for the second quarter were 181.2 MW, compared to shipments 48.2 MW a year ago

Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company said it expects shipments of around 190 MW to 200 MW, with a gross margin of about 14.5% to 15.5%.

For the full-year 2010, the company reiterated its shipments guidance of approximately 700 MW to 800 MW.

Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar said, "--We also expect our increased internal cell production early next year to enable us to substantially improve our margin structure. Finally, we expect our solar system business to start generating meaningful income in Q4 and continue to grow in 2011."