Trina Solar Sales Improve 12-15% From First Quarter
Trina Solar issued preliminary financial results for the June-ending quarter, with improved sales and profits. The company also said it will refinance existing loans, and priced an offering of 4.5 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $28.75 per share.
David Lammers, News Editor -- PV Society, 7/29/2009
Reflecting what it said was an improved climate for the PV industry, Trina Solar Ltd. (Changzhou, China) said its preliminary Q2 sales and profits improved compared with the previous quarter. The company reported "selected estimated" results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, with sales in the range of $148M-152M, an increase of 12-15.1% from the first quarter of 2009.
Profits also improved, with a gross margin of ~26-28% and an operating margin of ~11.5-13.5%, compared with a 5.2% operating margin in the first quarter. The company wrote off ~$5M in accounts receivable from a German customer that proved uncollectible.
Trina Solar, an integrated manufacturer, including production of ingots, wafers and cells and including the assembly of modules, said it expects PV module shipments to total 350-400 MW this year, representing an increase of 74-99% from 2008.
The results are evidence of a "steady improvement in the global solar marketplace and a supportive regulatory environment" as the "overall cost of solar energy declines and the cost of ownership falls," said CEO Jifan Gao.
Capacity expansion underway
The company said it is on target to increase its production of PV cells and modules from the current 400 MW to ~450 MW by the end of September. In addition, by the end of this year it expects to add ~150 MW of new capacity as part of its East Campus expansion, achieving a total annual cell and module production capacity of 600 MW.
To support the East Campus project, this month Trina Solar took out ~$80M in loans due June 30, 2010, from a domestic bank. The company said the loans are expected to become part of a five-year project financing arrangement now being finalized with Chinese banks.
The company also announced the pricing for the follow-on public offering of 4.5 million American depositary shares (ADSs), with each ADS representing 100 ordinary shares. The ADS was priced at $28.75, and Trina Solar has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 675,000 ADSs.
Trina Solar said it intends to use the net proceeds from the ADS offering to repurchase up to $30M of its 4.00% convertible senior notes due 2013, and to fund facility expansions and other projects.
