Yingli Green Energy (YGE) missed EPS and revenue estimates by a wide margin, but the stock is holding up reasonably well, off just 5%.  The company reported an EPS loss of .09/share on revenues of $146 million.  That’s a 36% haircut on the revenue side from the year ago quarter.  The CEO rhetoric remains the same.. poor economy, tight credit conditions, etc.  However, CEO Liansheng Miao does believe the 1st quarter marked a low point for the industry.

“We believe that the first quarter marked a low point for the entire solar industry this year, Yingli Green Energy included. However, recent gradual recovery in major markets, especially in Germany, combined with encouraging government policies towards alternative energy in the United States and China,gives us reasons to remain confident in the future of the global solar market.”

On entering the US market:

“In the United States, to take advantage of increasing government support for alternative energy, we have entered into cooperation with key U.S. solar players, including an exclusive supplier framework agreement with AES Solar Energy Ltd., an affiliate of AES Corporation, for its solar projects in major PV markets. Also during the first quarter, we established our U.S. subsidiary,which will be led by Robert Petrina, our U.S. Managing Director and an eight-year solar industry veteran. Under Mr. Petrina’s direction we are taking steps towards opening sales centers on the East and West coasts of the United States.”

Looking ahead..

Yingli is updating its PV module shipment target to be in the estimated range of 450 MW to 500 MW for fiscal year 2009, an increase of 59.9 % to 77.6 % compared to last year.  That assumes the successful installation and ramp-up of an additional 200 MW planned expansion in the third quarter of 2009. Due to decreases in the average selling price of PV modules and further deterioration of the Euro against the US dollar, the company expects its gross margins to be in the range of 23 – 25%.

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