Disappointing solar earnings across the board

Solar manufacturers continue to struggle in 2011 with weak third quarter earnings across the board, as the price of solar panels has dropped by 40 percent, and important European markets have cut subsidies. Solar companies Suntech (s STP), JA Solar (s JASO), LDK Solar (s LDK) and Canadian Solar all issued disappointing earnings on Tuesday with mostly larger than anticipated losses for the quarter.

Suntech

Suntech reported third quarter 2011 revenues of $809.8 million, above investor estimates of $776.1 million, but unveiled a loss for the quarter of 64 cents a share, below estimates, for a loss of 26 cents. In addition, Suntech sees shipments for the fourth quarter of 2011 down by 20 percent. However, shares of Suntech rose on the company’s news that its business in Germany is picking up. Suntech is up 6.28 percent to $2.37.

JA Solar

JA Solar reported a third quarter loss of 376 million yuan ($59.1 million), or 2.28 yuan a share, compared with a profit of 513.7 million yuan ($59.7 million), or 3.14 yuan a share, for the same period a year earlier. JA Solar reported revenue of 2.47 billion yuan ($286.9 million) for the third quarter, down from 3.62 billion yuan ($420.5 million) a year earlier. JA Solar also cut its 2011 shipment estimate to 1.6 gigawatts from 1.8 gigawatts.

LDK Solar

LDK Solar reported a third quarter net loss of $114.5 million, or 87 cents an American depositary share, compared with net income of $93.4 million, or 72 cents, for the same quarter a year earlier. LDK had to write down $47.3 million on inventory due to a “significant drop in market price for wafers and modules” during the quarter. LDK reported revenues of $471.9 million, which was a drop from revenues of $675.6 million for the same period a year ago. LDK’s shares are down 1.77 percent to $2.78.

Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar reported strong revenues of $499.6 million, up 32.5 percent from a year ago. But the company lost way more than expected and reported a net loss of $43.9 million, or $1.02 a share, compared with a profit of $20.3 million for the year earlier, or 47 cents a share. Shares of Canadian Solar were up slightly by 2.73 percent to $2.26.

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