Canadian Solar's Q1 2016 net profit drops 63% y/y

Photovoltaic (PV) panels maker Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Wednesday reported an attributable net profit of USD 22.6 million (EUR 19.8m) for the first quarter of 2016, down 63.13% year-on-year.

The company earned USD 0.39 per diluted share, compared to USD 1.04 in the opening quarter of 2015.

Gross margin fell to 15.6% from 17.8% a year ago and 17.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015. The sequential decline was as a result of lower contribution from its total solutions business, the negative impact of which was somewhat compensated by a decrease in module manufacturing costs and higher module average selling prices (ASP).

Net revenue fell by 16.2% on the year to USD 721.4 million, surpassing the company's guidance. Module shipments topped Canadian Solar’s expectations for the period by reaching 1,198 MW, of which 1,172 MW recognised in revenue. This compares to 1,027 MW recognised in revenue in the first quarter of 2015.

“The results do not include the benefit of any solar project sales in the quarter, however, in the future we will continue our balanced approach of project retention and project sales to maximize both flexibility and valuation, as well as to balance our cash flow,” chairman and CEO, Shawn Qu, said.

The company is advancing with its previously announced capacity expansion, it said.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.878)

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