Trina Solar Announces First Quarter 2015 Results

Publié le 22 mai 2015
Trina Solar 
Trina Solar Limited today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2015.

First quarter 2015 Financial and Operating Highlights

- Total module shipments were 1,026.2MW, consisting of 891.7MW of external shipments and 134.5MW shipments to the Company's own downstream solar power projects. This compares with total shipments of 1,098.8MW in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 558.0MW in the first quarter of 2014, and the company's guidance of 840MW to 870MW.

- Net revenues were $558.1 million, a decrease of 20.8% from the fourth quarter of 2014.

- Gross margin was 18.0%, compared with 15.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014.

- Operating income was $29.2 million, a decrease of 4.4% from the fourth quarter of 2014.

- Net income was $15.7 million, an increase of 12.7% from the fourth quarter of 2014.

- Earnings per fully diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS" and each ADS represents 50 of the Company's ordinary shares) were $0.16, compared with $0.13 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

"We are pleased to announce the strongest first quarter in our company's history. We exceeded our own guidance as well as market expectations. We maintained our leading position as one of the largest solar companies in the world, with record shipments of over 1GW during what is traditionally the weakest quarter of the year. Our gross margin rose quarter-on-quarter from 15.7% to 18% as our cost reduction efforts continue to generate positive results which more than offset the decline in the average selling price during the quarter. We also recorded a more favorable geographic sales mix alongside stronger sales of our higher value-added products," said Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar.

"In line with increasing global demand, our plans to expand our capacity remain on-track for both our domestic and overseas facilities, which will ensure we will be able to meet growing demand for the remainder of the year and beyond. Our Malaysia facility, along with our recently announced Thailand facility, will serve to not only expand production, but also enhance our competitiveness in the global markets."

"Technologically, I am proud to announce that our Honey Plus multi-crystalline silicon module broke another efficiency record during the quarter. Recently, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, included our name on its Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart, making Trina Solar the first Chinese company ever to appear in NREL's tracking of the world's most efficient solar technologies."

"Our downstream segment recorded significant progress in the UK and China. We will continue to build our pipeline in China and abroad, and will look to especially capitalize on the tremendous potential for utility scale and distributed generation ("DG") projects in China going forward."

"We are confident that strong global demand will continue to drive greater growth in the solar industry for the remainder of 2015. Trina Solar started fiscal 2015 on a strong note and we will continue to deliver on our commitment to strengthening our leading position as the world's largest module supplier, and becoming a world-class project developer and operator."

First quarter 2015 Results

Net Revenues

Net revenues were $558.1 million, a decrease of 20.8% sequentially and an increase of 25.5% year-over-year. Total shipments were 1,026.2MW, consisting of 891.7MW of external shipments which were recognized in revenue, and 134.5MW of shipments to the Company's downstream power projects. This compares with total shipments of 1,098.8MW, consisting of 1,070.5MW of external shipments which were recognized in revenue and 28.3MW of internal shipments in the fourth quarter of 2014 and total shipments of 558.0MW, including 534.2MW of external shipments which were recognized in revenue and 23.8MW of internal shipments in the first quarter of 2014. The sequential decrease in revenues and shipments was primarily due to a seasonal slowdown in demand in China, partially offset by the increase in demand from Europe and Japan. The year-over-year increase in revenues and shipments was largely driven by growing demand from key geographical regions, particularly China, Japan and the U.S.

Gross Profit and Margin

Gross profit was $100.3 million, compared with $111.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $91.5 million in the first quarter of 2014. Gross margin was 18.0%, compared with 15.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 20.6% in the first quarter of 2014. The sequential increase in gross margin was mainly the result of the Company's reduced cost per watt, which more than offset the decline in average selling price ("ASP"), and a change in the sales mix in the quarter, reflecting higher shipments to the U.S., Japan and Europe, where the Company realizes relatively higher ASPs. The year-over-year decrease in gross margin was primarily because the ASP declined relatively faster than the Company's cost reductions in the first quarter of 2015 compared with a year ago.

Operating Expenses, Income and Margin

Operating expenses were $71.2 million, a decrease of 11.6% sequentially and an increase of 33.6% year-over-year. The sequential decrease was primarily due to a decrease in selling expenses, particularly lower shipping and warranty expenses, as a result of lower shipment volumes as well as low marketing expenses in the relatively slow season. The year-over-year increase was mainly because the operating expenses associated with the 50MW Wuwei project sales in the first quarter of 2014 were lower than the sales expenses associated with module sales, alongside higher shipment volumes in the first quarter of 2015. The Company's operating expenses represented 12.8% of the first quarter net revenues, an increase from 11.4% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 12.0% in the first quarter of 2014. Operating expenses included a reversal of accounts receivable provision of $0.06 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared with a reversal of accounts receivable provisions of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

As a result, operating income was $29.2 million, compared with $30.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $38.2 million in the first quarter of 2014. Operating margin was 5.2%, compared with 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 8.6% in the first quarter of 2014.

Net Interest Expense

Net interest expense was $10.7 million, compared with $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $8.7 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Foreign Currency Exchange Gain (Loss)

The Company recorded a net foreign currency exchange loss of $1.7 million, which included a gain on change in fair value of foreign exchange derivative instruments of $5.3 million. This compares with a net loss of $7.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a net gain of $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2014. The loss on foreign currency exchange was mainly due to the depreciation of the Euro and Japanese Yen against the U.S. dollar, offset by the gain of the RMB against U.S. dollar in the first quarter of 2015.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was $3.2 million, compared with income tax expense of $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and income tax expense of $6.4 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Net Income and Earnings per ADS

Net income was $15.7 million, compared with $13.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $26.5 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Net margin was 2.8%, compared with 2.0% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 6.0% in the first quarter of 2014.

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Trina Solar was $13.9 million, compared with $10.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $26.5 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Earnings per fully diluted ADS were $0.16, compared with $0.13 in the fourth quarter of 2014 and $0.37 in the first quarter of 2014.

Financial Condition

As of March 31, 2015, the Company had $682.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Total bank borrowings were $912.2 million, of which $883.8 million were short-term borrowings, including $80.3 million of the current portion of long-term borrowings.

Shareholders' equity was $988.4 million as of March 31, 2015, an increase from $972.8 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014.

Second Quarter and Fiscal Year 2015 Guidance

Second Quarter of 2015 Guidance

The Company expects to ship between 1,100MW to 1,140MW of PV modules, of which 150MW to 170MW of PV modules will be shipped to the Company's downstream PV projects, revenues of which will not be recognized. The Company expects to connect 65MW to 70MW of PV projects to the grid in the second quarter of 2015.

Fiscal Year 2015 Guidance

2015 Manufacturing Capacity

The Company expects to achieve annualized capacity at the end of 2015:

- Ingot production capacity of approximately 2.2GW

- Wafer capacity of approximately 1.7GW

- PV cell capacity of approximately 3.5GW

- Module capacity of approximately 4.8GW

The Company expects total PV module shipments to be between 4.4GW and 4.6GW, of which 700MW to 800MW of PV modules will be shipped to the Company's downstream projects. The total shipment volume represents an increase of 20% to 26% from 2014.

The Company expects to connect to the grid 700MW and 750MW of downstream PV power projects across the world, including 30% to 40% of DG projects in China.

Operations and Business Updates

Manufacturing Capacity

As of March 31, 2015, the Company had annualized:

- In-house ingot production capacity of approximately 2.2GW

- Wafer capacity of approximately 1.7GW

- PV cell capacity of approximately 3.2GW

- Module capacity of approximately 4.0GW

Project Development

In the first quarter of 2015, the Company connected to the grid a total of 55MW projects, including 49.99MW project in the UK and 5MW DG projects in China.

In the UK, the Company entered into a set of agreements to sell a 49.99MW solar power plant in Norfolk, UK, to Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited for a maximum consideration of approximately GBP59.1 million (equivalent to approximately $87.7 million). The revenue was not recognized in the first quarter of 2015 because the closing conditions were not met.

In China, the Company signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Administrative Committee of the Hefei Xinzhan General Pilot Zone to develop up to 300MW of DG solar power and related projects in Hefei, Anhui Province. The first phase of the project consists of a 30MW commercial rooftop project, has started construction in the second quarter of 2015. This project will be one of the largest single-unit commercial rooftop projects in China once completed.

The Company is adopting tailored strategies to develop its downstream business for utility scale and DG projects in both the domestic and overseas markets. The Company intends to develop some projects on its own, while others will be developed in collaboration with local partners to leverage their resources and capabilities. Trina Solar takes into account a number of factors for each market, including but not limited to the Company's ability to obtain the government's quota, geographic location, the policy and regulatory environment, the potential internal rate of return, capacity of local grid power, and the potential of local partners to collaborate with.


Profil ENF des Entreprises Mentionnées dans l’Article

Trina Solar (Composants): https://fr.enfsolar.com/trina-solar
Trina Solar (Panneaux Solaires): https://fr.enfsolar.com/trina-solar
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