Here are some highlights I extracted from First Solar’s conference call transcript provided by Seeking Alpha
Conference call highlights:
* Manufacturing cost declined to .93/watt a reduction from .98 over the year ago quarter
Company roadmap calls for .65/watt by 2012
* 479 MW of new volumes in Q1 (361 MW in Europe)
* More opportunity in Germany coming once the snow melts
* Risk of customer defaults continues which could impact 10 – … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) continues to show why it is the best of breed of solar company, posting another quarter of remarkable growth while its competitors whither in tough conditions. The company smashed EPS estimates of $1.53/share as well as the whisper number of $1.70/share with a Q1 EPS of $1.99/share which is a whopping 249% increase over the year ago quarter. Revenues, while less than last quarter, were doubled again over the year ago quarter … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) announced late last night that they will supply PV solar modules to Solar Shop Australia for a 1MW rooftop project that will be installed on 6 separate buildings at the Adelaide Showground in South Australia. The project, which is being commissioned by the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia, will represent the largest PV installation in the country.
“This project marks the beginning of what we expect to be a … Read the rest
Cable TV tycoon Ted Turner believes clean energy offers the biggest opportunity the world has ever seen and compares it to cable TV 40 years ago in that the field is wide open and rife with opportunity. From Bloomberg:
“I’m putting my money where my mouth is and I’ve made a multimillion investment in solar power,” Turner, 70, said in the interview in Washington on April 24. “I’m looking to make an investment in … Read the rest
According to StreetInsider.com Citi is out with a hold on First Solar (FSLR) but is raising the price target from $130 to $150.
Citi believes the solar industry is entering a sustainable period of secular growth with business models in the space “exhibiting positive earnings leverage.”
“Consistent with our investment framework, we believe that solar stocks, in general, should trade at a premium to the broader market given fundamental demand drivers that should fuel earnings … Read the rest
It appears the credit markets are opening up a bit with several financing announcements made recently (although mostly out of China). First Solar (FSLR) and Juwi Holding AG have announced today they have secured financing for a 53MW plant in Germany that began in January and is expected to completed by the end of the year. This project is the ultimate “clean” energy project that not only provides solar energy power, displacing 35K tons of … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) has an agreement to expand the existing AC ground mounted solar power plant for Sempra Generation from 10 MW which it built last year to 48MW. FSLR will design, engineer and construct the power plant beginning construction this year and finishing next year, culminating in the largest PV power plant North America. The agreement is conditioned upon Sempra finding customers for the electricity and meeting state and local regulatory approvals.
First … Read the rest
Abound, a small, privately held US start-up, is taking on industry giant First Solar. What’s more, they think they can win. Like First Solar, Abound makes cadmium telluride solar panels. First Solar has managed to reduce the cost of its solar power to 98 cents per watt. According to Reuters, Abound thinks it can do better:
We think we have a slight technological advantage over First Solar," Chief Executive Pascal Noronha said in an interview. … Read the rest
First Solar just finished gobbling up OptiSolar’s PV project pipeline on Friday. The company plans to take the projects in the pipeline, build them and then sell them.
Renewable-Energy-Sources.com has the details of the deal:
First Solar acquired all of OptiSolar’s project development business in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $400 million. As a result of the closing today, First Solar will issue approximately 3 million shares of common stock representing a dilution of … Read the rest
In an article released this morning entitled "Nightfall Comes To Solar Land," Bill Alpert of Barron’s predicts that the massive drop in silicon prices over the past year, combined with cooling demand for solar energy, will have a negative impact on the solar industry in general, particularly thin-film manufacturers like First Solar (FSLR) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER). These two companies based their business models on a market in which there was not enough … Read the rest