Canadian Solar Turns To Profit In Q3 - Update

(RTTNews) - Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) Wednesday reported a profit for the third quarter compared to a loss last year, reflecting about 51 percent growth in revenues, mainly driven by its higher margin total solutions business.

West Guelph, Canada-based manufacturer of solar power products now sees annual module shipments to be at the top end of its prior guidance.

Total solar module shipments increased in the third quarter, and the firm expects module shipments to China and Japan to be the main drivers of demand in the fourth quarter.

For the third quarter, net income attributable to the company was $27.69 million or $0.56 per share, compared with a loss of $43.67 million or $1.01 per share in the previous year. On average, two analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.36 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Quarterly net revenue climbed 50.6 percent to $490.9 million from $325.97 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $480.10 million for the quarter.

Gross margin was 20.4 percent, significantly up from 2.2 percent in the prior year, mainly due to successful execution of its total solutions business plan, including the completion and sale of solar power plants to TransCanada and BlackRock, as well as higher gross margin from its pure module business, the company said.

Total solar module shipments increased to 478 MW from 384 MW a year earlier. Solar module shipments to the Japanese market represented 29.5 percent of total shipments in the recent quarter, compared to 5.7 percent in the third quarter of 2012.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2013, module shipments are expected to be in the range of around 480 MW to 500 MW.

In line with guidance for the fourth quarter of 2013, the firm now sees annual module shipments to be about 1.75 GW to 1.77 GW, at the top end of its prior guidance of 1.6 GW to 1.8GW.

Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of the company said, "Our third quarter results underscore the continued successful execution of our total solutions business plan, the strength of our module business, and the scalability of our operating model. Third quarter results exceeded...allowing us to reach our goal of returning Canadian Solar to profitability for the year."

CSIQ closed Tuesday's regular trading at $28.23 on the Nasdaq. In the pre-market activity, the shares are up 3.08 percent.