Strong revenues help Canadian Solar turn to Q1 net profit

New Canadian Solar factory in Brazil. Image by Investe Sao Paulo (www.investe.sp.gov.br)

Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) on Thursday reported a net profit of USD 110.6 million (EUR 100.4m) for the first quarter of 2020 on the back of a 70% surge in revenues in the period.

The company booked a net revenue of USD 826 million in the first quarter, ahead of the expected USD 780 million to USD 810 million. Revenues benefited from an increase in module shipments and project sales, which was partially offset by a drop in the average module selling price.

Canadian Solar shipped a total of 2,214 MW in modules in the period, including 253 MW to its own solar projects, up from 1,575 MW a year earlier.

The table below shows more information about Canadian Solar’s financial results.

Figures in USD, except percentages	Q1 2020	Q1 2019
Net revenues	825.6m	484.7m
Gross margin (%)	27.0%	22.2%
Total operating expenses	109.8m	100.8m
Income from operations	113.4m	6.6m
Net profit (loss)	111.2m	(16.9m)
Attributable net profit (loss)	110.6m	(17.2m)

"While COVID-19's impact on the demand for our products and services was limited in the first quarter, we remain cautious given the market uncertainty and expected softness in the second half of 2020," CEO Shawn Qu commented.

For the second quarter of 2020, the company expects module shipments in the range of 2.5 GW to 2.7 GW, including about 200 MW to its own projects. Total revenues are forecast to be in the range of USD 630 million to USD 680 million, with gross margin of between 18.5% and 20.5%.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.907)

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