Spire Corp posts flat Q2 net loss

Aug 14, 2013 - Spire Corp (NASDAQ:SPIR), the US company that makes equipment for the making of photovoltaics (PV), Tuesday reported a second-quarter net loss of USD 1.78 million (EUR 1.3m), almost unchanged from USD 1.82 million a year earlier.

The company's basic and diluted loss per share shrank to USD 0.19 from USD 0.21. It did not record any loss from discontinued operations in the three months. Spire Corp sold its semiconductor operations in March 2012, which was not reflected in its second-quarter 2012 and 2013 financial results.

Gross margin for April-June declined to 14% from 18% in the same period of 2012, while revenue from continuing operations fell by 46% in annual terms to USD 3.6 million. The drop was attributed to a USD-2.8-million decline in individual module equipment units as well as the oversupply in the solar segment.

In its financial report the company's chairman and CEO Roger G Little said that the global solar market is still expanding but the overcapacity of module production is seen to be absorbed by the middle of 2014. After that, module prices are forecast to increase and thus have a positive impact on manufacturers at the end of 2014.

Spire Corp posted a net loss of USD 4.4 million in the first half of 2013, versus a profit of USD 1.5 million a year ago. Revenues more than halved to USD 6.8 million from USD 14.1 million. At the end of June, the company's cash and cash equivalents stood at USD 1.7 million.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.754)

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