MEMC Electronics (WFR) reported after the bell tonight and the headlines coming out would have you believe that the quarter was a bit of a disaster with the company posting a .29 EPS loss.   Here at GreenStocks I like to dig a little bit deeper and get to what’s really going on after all the one time gains and losses.  If you take out the one time restructuring and impairment charge of $39.7 million, a $4.5 million startup cost for its Malaysia plant, a tax expense of $19.3 million and $6.3 million charge related to the decrease in value of its Suntech (STP) warrants, it all adds up to a profitable quarter!  Ok, just barely profitable ($5.1 million), but profitable nonetheless.  Add to that the fact the company had to shut down its Pasadena, Texas plant for repairs and I believe this quarter was an aberration and any selling tomorrow related to this earnings report unwarranted. 

.. and no I’m not hyping the company and have no position whatsoever.  I’ll sure be looking for an entry soon though. 

CEO Ahmad Chatila said he was pleased with the 10% sequential revenue growth despite the setback in Pasadena and sees relative strength in the solar market, but uncertainty in pricing.  The company sees Q4 sales of $310-$350 million vs the Wall St estimate of $341.59 million

Shares of WFR are off about 4% in after hours trading.