Suntech Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

Shipments Grow More Than 60% Sequentially

Full Year 2009 PV Shipment Target Increased from 600MW to a Range of 640MW to 660MW
SAN FRANCISCO and WUXI, China, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world's largest crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer, today announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009.
Third Quarter 2009 Highlights
-- Total net revenues increased 47.4% sequentially to $473.1 million in
the third quarter of 2009

-- Gross profit margin for the core wafer to module business was 20.0% in
the third quarter of 2009, compared with 19.1% in the second quarter of
2009

-- Consolidated gross profit margin was 17.8% in the third quarter of 2009,
compared with 18.6% in the second quarter 2009

-- Net income attributable to holders of ordinary shares was $29.8 million,
or $0.16 per diluted American Depository Share (ADS). Each ADS
represents one ordinary share

-- Suntech's multi-crystalline Pluto-powered module achieved world record
conversion efficiency of 16.53%

-- Full-year 2009 PV shipment target increased from 600MW to a range of
640MW to 660MW

-- Suntech targets to increase total PV cell and module production
capacity to 1.4GW by the middle of 2010, of which 450MW will be
Pluto-enabled

"We are very pleased to announce strong revenue growth and a healthy bottom line for the third quarter of 2009," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO. "The significant pick up in demand was largely due to a seasonal rush before end-of-year policy adjustments and improving customer returns on investments in solar projects. It was also due to customer recognition of Suntech's attractive value proposition of exceptional product performance at a reasonable price.
"Complementing strong growth in the German market, we are particularly pleased to see 100% sequential shipment growth in the U.S. market and the rapid development of a number of non-traditional PV markets such as the Czech Republic, Benelux, China. This demonstrates the ongoing diversification of the solar industry and Suntech's ability to enter emerging markets.
"During the third quarter we continued to develop Suntech's industry-leading sales and service infrastructure and to differentiate our products through innovation. In Europe, we strengthened our local team with the addition of four new senior executives; in the U.S. we launched our North American Partner Program; and in China we continued to build one of the nation's most capable system installation and project development teams.

Labels: Earnings, Solar Stocks, STP, Suntech Power

posted by Ertai at 8:18 AM