Soitec’s solar op loss narrows in H1 FY 2014/15

Nov 19, 2014 - French silicon-on-insulator wafers maker Soitec (EPA:SOI) saw the operating loss of its solar energy segment shrink to EUR 61.9 million (USD 78m) in the six months through September from EUR 101.1 million a year earlier.

In a press release on Tuesday, the company said that the segment's current operating loss has expanded to EUR 53.5 million from EUR 50.6 million as it booked a non-current impairment charge of EUR 14.4 million.

Revenues in the solar division jumped to EUR 35.2 million from EUR 700,000 a year earlier thanks to the contribution of Soitec’s 44-MWp Touwsrivier concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) park in South Africa.

During the period, Soitec continued with the development and commercialisation of a next generation high efficiency solar cell and expects to soon achieve a new conversion efficiency record with its four-junction technology. This summer, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE said it had achieved conversion efficiency of 36.7% with Soitec’s four-junction CPV modules.

The French firm closed the first six months of fiscal 2014/15 with a net loss of EUR 82.9 million, narrowing from EUR 160 million a year before. Revenues improved to EUR 106 million from EUR 91 million.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.252)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!