ReneSola Has Reported a Sharp Decline in Its Third-Quarter 2011 Revenues

ReneSola, a China-based solar firm, has reported a sharp decline in its third-quarter 2011 revenues. Net revenues for the quarter came to US$189.1 million, down 24.2% on quarter and 47.3% on year. ReneSola indicated the net revenues decreased because of declines in average selling price (ASP) of solar wafers. The price of solar modules also showed decreases in Europe, according to the firm. "The challenging global market conditions continued to impact our business in the third quarter of 2011. Oversupply and weakened demand led to substantial decreases in solar wafer and module prices, which negatively impacted our revenues and margins for the quarter," Xianshou Li, CEO of ReneSola, was cited as saying in a company statement. Total solar product shipments in third-quarter 2011 reached 328.5MW, a 11.2% on-quarter increase and 1.1% on-year increase. In particular, wafer shipments accounted for 294.8MW, representing an on-quarter increase of 27.9% and on-year increase of 30.1%. Module shipments in third-quarter 2011 were 33.7MW, a 48.2% on-quarter decrease and 65.7% on-year decrease. According to ReneSolar, the decrease in module shipments were due to weak market demand and Europe's challenging financing environment. Gross loss of third-quarter 2011 was US$7.7 million, a sequential decrease of 116.8% and an on-year decrease of 106.6%. Gross margin was negative 4.0% compared to 18.4% in second-quarter 2011 and 32.5% in third-quarter 2010. ReneSola indicated the large decrease was due to ASP decrease of solar wafers and modules. Net loss for third-quarter 2011 was US$8.2 million, compared to net income of US$1.8 million in second-quarter 2011 and US$60.1 million in third-quarter 2010. Business Outlook In fourth-quarter 2011, ReneSola expects total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 280-300MW and revenues to be in the range of US$140-150 million. For the full year 2011, ReneSola expects total solar wafer and module shipments to be in the range of 1.23-1.25 GW and revenues to be in the range of US$935-945 million. "ReneSola has begun to explore the systems business in China, and have conducted preliminary work on a project in Qinghai. Given the potential opportunities for high returns within the systems business in China, the firm will examine carefully and evaluate opportunities in this area. At the same time, ReneSolar will continue to focus on wafer manufacturing while considering other investment opportunities to position ourselves favorably once macro conditions stabilize," said Li. Source: www.digitimes.com