China Sunergy reported Q3 2012 financial results just in-line with guidance but needed support from emerging markets such as Australia to do so.
The company reported revenue of US$59.5 million, a significant decrease of 46.1% compared with Q2 2012, when sales reached US$110 million, up from US$68.5 million in Q1 2012.
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Shipments fell 45.1%, compared to the previous quarter, reaching 82.5MW (81.9MW were module shipments).
Gross profit, including a small inventory provision of US$1.3 million, wasUS$0.4 million in the quarter, while the gross margin was 0.7%. A decline in wafer and polysilicon costs contributed to the positive margins in the quarter, despite the weak sales and shipments. However, the net loss was US$23.2 million, with a net negative margin of 39.0%.ASPs continued to decline over 5% q-on-q.
Stephen Cai, CEO of China Sunergy said, “In spite of a challenging market environment, our financial performance of this quarter remained in line with expectations, and the Company has performed solidly in managing costs and cash flow. We believe that the quarter marked a turning point for China Sunergy, as we continued diversifying our end markets, forming new partnerships with strong customers, and gradually transforming ourselves from a pure manufacturer to a downstream solar solutions provider.”
On a regional basis, revenue from Australia in the quarter stood-out, contributing 26.0% of total revenue, compared to previous key markets of Italy and Germany which contributed 16.8% and 15.3% of total revenue, respectively in the quarter.
Financial guidance
China Sunergy guided a small increase (90MW – 100MW) in shipments for Q4 2012. However, continued pricing pressure and falling ASPs will continue to impact gross margins, which the company said would remain in the low single digits and forecasted a net loss.
Shipments for the full-year were reaffirmed at between 400MW – 420MW, after previously being lowered.