After several days of large gains, solar stocks are going to have a difficult time tomorrow after LDK Solar (LDK) came out after the bell and cut its expectations for 4Q and FY09 citing .. you guessed it! Lower demand..  oh and a delay in ramping production at its 1000 MT polysilicon plant which is expected to offer peak production around mid 2009.  Construction of the 15K MT polysilicon plant remains on schedule and is expected to come online in the spring.

LDK is trading off about 15% after hours on the news.  It now expects 4Q revenue of 425 – 435 million (25% lower than its estimates from 6 weeks ago of $555 – 565 million) and gross margins of between 10 – 13%.  Due to the deteriorating global economy the company is also cutting estimates for next year.  It was just a few weeks ago on Nov 13th that the company came out with a press release reiterating its strong position when I commented, “Usually when a company comes out with a statement to defend its financial position in the face of growing concern you have to be skeptical, so we’ll revisit this statement in 6 months and see just how strong they are in 09.”  What a difference a few weeks make. 

“Late in the fourth quarter, we experienced a slowdown in our business related to the current global financial crisis,” stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar. “Despite a difficult operating environment, we remain focused on executing our growth strategy and believe that our competitive positioning as the largest and lowest-cost wafer producers in the solar industry will provide us with a competitive edge for navigating through these challenging times. We continue to have a solid cash position, with more than $380 million, in addition to unused credit facilities totaling in excess of $850 million and will continue to conservatively manage our resources. Our operations remain at full capacity, with contract backlog remaining strong for 2009.”