LDK Solar slips into USD 88m loss in Q2 2011

Aug 30, 2011 - Chinese solar wafer maker LDK Solar (NYSE:LDK) yesterday reported a net loss of USD 87.7 million (EUR 60.5m) for the second quarter of 2011 versus a net profit of USD 45 million a year earlier as wafer and module prices dipped.

Net sales dropped to USD 499.4 million from USD 565.3 million in the year-ago period.

Xiaofeng Peng, LDK Solar chairman and CEO, said that the second-quarter results reflected the challenging solar industry dynamics that resulted from recent policy revisions in Europe and consequently reduced demand for PV products. Lower pricing across the supply chain affected the company's financial results, Peng added.

The figures for the second quarter of 2011 included an inventory write-down of USD 52.9 million due to the considerable decline in wafers and modules market prices, the company said. As a result, the gross margin dropped to 2.2% from 18% in the second quarter of 2010.

The company shipped 429.2 MW of wafers and 79.4 MW of modules in April-June. Polysilicon production totalled 2,774 tonnes and cell production stood at 123 MW.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.689)

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