REC management has revealed that demand for both its polysilicon and PV modules remained strong in the third quarter of 2013.
The company, which officially splits into separate companies at the end of this week, reported quarterly revenue of NOK705 million (US$119.6 million) and EBITDA of NOK36 million (US$6.1 million).
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REC Silicon
REC Silicon reported third quarter revenues of NOK738 million up 56% from NOK498 million in the previous quarter, despite the introduction of preliminary anti-dumping duties on solar grade polysilicon in China.
The company said that it had experienced strong demand for granular (FBR) polysilicon that’s led to an increase in polysilicon sales volume of 56% compared to the previous quarter.
However, EBITDA in the third quarter was NOK80 million down from NOK106 million in the previous quarter, due partially to price declines of 3%.
REC said that its FBR-based polysilicon cash cost was down to US$12/kg in the third quarter, while solar grade yield was up from 91% to 93%. However, polysilicon production had to be reduced due to increased sales of silane gas and an unplanned downtime of its Silane III plant in the quarter.
Polysilicon production reached 4,793MT, which equated to 4,448MT of solar and electronic grade polysilicon.
REC Solar
REC Solar reported third quarter revenues of NOK917 million down from NOK1,070 million in the previous quarter. EBITDA in the third quarter was NOK59 million down from NOK75 million in the previous quarter.
The company said that the revenue decline from the previous quarter was due to lower shipments and slightly lower selling prices, partly offset by continued cost reductions.
Module sales volume was down 8%, compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to inventory build and a 5% decline in ASPs.
However, REC said that module production at its Singapore facility had increased and cost reductions continued to be made. Cash cost for producing modules had reached €0.49/W in the third quarter. REC also reported that the September average cell efficiency had been 17.6%.
The company noted that REC Solar it continued to hold a strong market position in Asia, and significant volumes was shipped to a limited number of customers in the region during the quarter.
Guidance
REC guided that REC Silicon’s polysilicon production in the fourth quarter of 2013 would be 4,850MT, resulting in annual production of 19,500MT, just short of previous guidance of around 20,000MT for the year. Polysilicon prices were guided to be slightly up from the previous quarter.
PV module production at REC Solar was expected to be 220MW, resulting in annual production reaching 810MW. The company expects continued demand driven by Japan, China and the US in the fourth quarter. Module ASPs were expected to be inline with the previous quarter.
