You’d think with a second quarter that saw a significant jump in revenue, a swing to profitability, and raised guidance, solar cell and module maker SunPower (SPWR) would catch a break from Wall Street. Not so much: SunPower’s shares traded down 7 percent to $74.54 (one of the morning’s biggest decliners according to MarketWatch).
Here are the numbers: The company announced that it had revenues of $382.8 million, up 120 percent from the second quarter a year ago. Net income came in at $28.6 million, compared to last year’s second quarter when it posted a loss of $5.3 million. And the company also raised its fiscal year guidance to revenues of $1.39 billion to $1.44 billion.
SunPower CEO Tom Werner did mention one dark spot for the U.S. solar market — the risk of the ITC not being extended. “In 2008, SunPower has achieved the geographic and market segment diversity that provides us with tremendous flexibility to respond to new opportunities and minimize risk, such as the uncertainty our industry currently faces in the U.S. and Spanish markets,” Werner said.
Werner has previously said SunPower will focus on markets outside the United States if the ITC isn’t passed (No U.S. Solar Incentives? No Solar For You.) Abengoa’s US advisor Fred Morse expressed similar sentiments in an interview with us earlier this week.
Update: The stock drop can likely thank reports that Spain could cut solar subsidies, which Eric Savitz of Barron’s sums up well:
The country has been debating changes for the last few weeks, and it appears that it may choose to cap its current subsidy program at 300 megawatts, a level which Collins Stewart analyst Daniel Ries this morning describes in a research note as “the worst case scenario.
Canadian Solar, JA Solar, Yingli Green Energy, Suntech, Solarfun and First Solar have all been trading down.
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