Canadian Solar posts 71% lower Q3 net profit, to boost capacity

Solar modules. Author: Marco Bellucci. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

Photovoltaic (PV) panels maker Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Tuesday reported a net profit of USD 30.4 million (EUR 28.3m) for the third quarter of 2015, down by 71% year-on-year, and set out plans for a manufacturing capacity expansion.

Earnings per diluted share fell to USD 0.53 from USD 1.75 a year earlier. Third-quarter non-GAAP net profit was USD 46 million, or USD 0.79 per diluted share.

The company said that to meet the expected strong growth in global demand for solar modules in the quarters ahead, it will lift its wafer, cell and module capacities to 1 GW, 3.4 GW and 5.63 GW, respectively, by the end of 2016. The plans include a new 400-MW cell and module plant in South East Asia and a new module plant in Brazil. More details about the expansion are provided in the table below.

	end 2014	end 2015	end June 2016	end 2016
wafer (MW)	260	400	1,000	1,000
cell (MW)	1,500	2,500	2,500	3,400
module (MW)	3,000	4,330	4,630	5,630

Canadian Solar also raised its outlook for total revenue in the full year to between USD 3.28 billion and USD 3.33 billion from a previous forecast of between USD 2.8 billion and USD 3 billion. The full-year guidance for total module shipments recognised in revenue was updated to 4.15 GW-4.2 GW from 4 GW-4.3 GW previously.

The following table contains Q3 figures and Canadian Solar's forecast for the closing quarter of 2015.

Figures in USD	Q3 2015	Q3 2014	Q4 2015 forecast
GAAP net profit	30.37 million	104.2 million	N/A
Gross margin	14.9%	22.9%	13-15%
Revenue	849.8 million	914.4 million	930-980 million
Module shipments	1,198 MW	770 MW	1,300-1,350 MW

"Separately, we are keeping our options open regarding the potential launch of a YieldCo with quality assets in OECD countries, and we continue to work on alternative exit strategies for our project portfolio, and expect to make a decent developer's margin if we decide to sell to, or partner with, end-buyers of renewable energy assets," said chairman and chief executive Shawn Qu.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.931)

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