First Solar boosts Q3 net profit by 289% y/y

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US solar major First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) on Monday reported a third-quarter (Q3) net profit of USD 349.3 million (EUR 325m) and confirmed the full-year guidance released at the end of October.

The bottom line result compares to a profit of USD 89.8 million a year ago. The GAAP earnings per fully diluted share in Q3 2015 grew to USD 3.41 from USD 0.89 a year ago.

Net profit in the first nine months of the year was up by 88.6% in annual terms. The table below contains additional figures.

Results in USD	Q3 2015	9-mo 2015	9-mo 2014	2015 forecast
Net profit	349.3 million	382.3 million	202.7 million	N/A
Earnings per fully diluted share	3.41	3.75	1.99	4.30-4.50
Net sales	1.27 billion	2.64 billion	2.38 billion	3.5-3.6 billion

The solar company announced record 1.7 GW direct current (DC) of new bookings in the third quarter.

In the press release, First Solar also said it had completed its analysis of a discrete income tax matter related to a foreign jurisdiction. It is revising previously issued financial statements to properly record a liability associated with an uncertain tax position related to income of a foreign subsidiary. These revisions have resulted in a USD-36-million decrease to accumulated earnings as of the end of 2014.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.931)

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