ReneSola posts USD-5.4m loss in Q1 2019

Solar Farm. Author: Michael Mees meesphotography.com License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Chinese solar project developer ReneSola Ltd (NYSE:SOL) reported yesterday an attributable net loss of USD 5.4 million (EUR 4.8m) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 on revenues of USD 13.1 million.

The loss expanded from USD 4.5 million in the preceding quarter even as revenues jumped by 134%. The Q1 gross margin was just 2.8%, which is within the guidance range, but down from 51.4% in Q4 2018 and 18.7% in Q1 2018. It fell as a result of the revenue mix and unfavourable margins from project sales in the US, ReneSola explained. It guided for a gross margin of 55% to 65% in the second quarter and USD 10 to USD 12 million in revenues.

The table contains details for the quarter under review.

Results in USD million, unless specified	Q1 2019	Q4 2018	Q1 2018
Revenue	13.1	5.6	44.8
Operating profit (loss)	(2.1)	(1.9)	5.9
Net profit (loss) to Renesola Ltd	(5.4)	(4.5)	5.4

ReneSola connected 3.7 MW of projects in Canada with feed-in tariff (FiT) contracts in the first three months of 2019. It also sold project rights to 21.1 MW in the US and 2.5 MW in France.

The company now has 752.7 MW in its late-stage pipeline, of which 327.4 MW in the US and 200 MW in Vietnam. At home, it has already submitted applications for subsidies to the National Energy Administration (NEA). This year, China is expected to award USD 435 million of subsidies for solar projects, including USD 109 million for residential solar capacity.

ReneSola still expects its project business to bring between USD 150 million and USD 170 million in revenues for the full year. Its overall gross margin is expected to stand in the range of 20%-25%. In the second half revenues are expected to jump due to project sales.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.88)

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