Q-Cells updates restructuring plan: provides four-year revenue guidance

January 24, 2012
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Financially challenged Q-Cells said it will restructure its finances in two key steps to avoid payment defaults to bondholders. The company confirmed 2011 revenue forecast of around €1 billion but said total losses for the year had yet to be concluded. Q-Cells guided a further decline in revenue in 2012 to approximately €865 million. A return to profitability was not expected until 2014, though this would only occur should all three outstanding convertible bond renegotiations prove successful.

The most immediate challenge is coming to an agreement with holders of the convertible bond due at the end of February 2012. Q-Cells said in a financial filing that “intensive negotiations” had been conducted, though a successful outcome had yet to be reached. Q-Cells had proposed a partial repayment of the outstanding bond volume in tranches over a set period of time.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

However, Q-Cells noted that due to a Frankfurt Regional Court ruling, on Monday, January 23, a new bond law from 2009 does not apply to the February 2012 bond issue. Q-Cells had hoped that by the appointment of a joint representative with bondholders, a deal could be struck that could have deferred the convertible bond maturing, yet the court ruled such a procedure was not legally effective. Though Q-Cells said it would appeal the decision, the current ruling would mean Q-Cells would need to reach individual agreements with the creditors; deals of this nature are never certain.

The plan put forward by Q-Cells for convertible bonds due in 2014 and 2015 is to have these restructured via a debt-to-equity swap.

The company also warned that a return to profitability, outside the bonds being successfully restructured could be impacted by the ongoing price wars, should they continue. The statement also noted that the profitability assumptions were based on cost leaders being able to recoup their cost of capital and return to acceptable margin levels, especially after a massive global sector consolidation.

Q-Cells therefore expected to return to sales growth in 2014, via its plan to become an international supplier of photovoltaic solutions, reducing dependence on solar cells and individual components.
 

Read Next

Premium
October 24, 2025
Marcel Suri explores the datasets that will help improve the accuracy of PV output estimation and drive better performance.
October 24, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker and Saudi-based energy company Abunayyan Holding have formed a joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
October 24, 2025
The Saudi state-owned renewables developer Masdar has begun construction on a giant solar-plus-storage project in Abu Dhabi.
October 23, 2025
The average price of a solar PPA signed in Europe in Q3 2025 fell below €35/MWh, reaching €34.25/MWh, according to LevelTen Energy.
October 23, 2025
Infrastructure investment firm Nuveen Infrastructure has secured US$171 million in financing for a 137MW solar PV plant in South Korea.
October 23, 2025
US solar manufacturer T1 Energy sold approximately 725MW of solar modules in Q3 2025, as it continues to expand US manufacturing capabilities.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Lisbon, Portugal