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Suntech targets 1 gigawatt solar cell capacity by end of 2008
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Suntech’s
PV cell production capacity increased to 540MW in 2007, the company
said in a financial statement covering 2007’s full-year results. The
company said that it is on track to reach 1GW PV cell production
capacity by the end of 2008.
"Our current capacity expansion is on track to hit our stated goal of 1GW PV cell production capacity by the end of 2008,” noted Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO. “The majority of this expansion will occur in the second half of 2008. To optimize our production volume and margins, approximately 60 percent of our full year production target of 530MW will be produced in the second half of 2008."
The company said that capital expenditures in the fourth quarter, which were primarily related to production capacity expansion and the construction of Suntech's new production facilities, totaled $42.3 million. Total CapEx for 2007 was $162.7 million.
Suntech also expects to improve gross margins and revenues during 2008 due also to the availability from mid-2008 onwards of greater quantities of lower priced silicon.
Shi noted that, “…costs will fall more than twice as fast as our projections of our average sales prices in 2009. We are confident that this will enable Suntech to expand production and improve profitability in 2009."
