Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP, K3ND.SG) posted a larger second-quarter loss, despite jumps in revenue and shipments, as lower prices and higher costs hit the bottom line and the company cut its 2011 earnings forecast.
The China-based solar-panel manufacturing giant booked operating expenses of $204 million, up 44% from a year ago, with much of the cost tied to the termination of a supply contract with solar-wafer maker MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR) and a much smaller charge tied to discontinued operations at a German subsidiary.
Despite "challenging times" for the industry, Suntech plans to meet its goal of shipping 2.2 gigawatts of solar products this year, although the company cut its revenue view for the year to $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion, down 3% from its May outlook.
"There is no doubt we are entering through challenging times as an industry," Suntech Chief Financial Officer David King said during a conference call with analysts. But he added that Suntech is working to cut costs and debt.
Suntech also expects demand to pick up later this year in Germany and Italy, as well as China, said Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Beebe.
Suntech said it expects third-quarter solar-panel shipments to rise more than 15% compared with the second quarter.
Shares of Suntech were recently trading 3 cents lower at $5.07, erasing earlier gains.
Suntech has boosted manufacturing of silicon wafers - the key ingredient in solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity - to serve about half of its needs. Being able to make wafers in-house will save the company $400 million over the next five years, Chief Executive Shi Zhengrong said.
Suntech reported a loss of $259.5 million, or $1.44 an American depositary share, compared with a loss of $174.9 million, or 97 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Suntech reported a loss of 19 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of 3 cents a share.
Revenue jumped 33% to $830.7 million.
2011年8月22日星期一
2011年5月5日星期四
Sunset nears on solar heater subsidies
THE Federal Government is to wind back generous subsidies for home solar electricity panels in a move welcomed by the industry as providing long-term certainty.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the level of subsidy would be reduced faster than previously planned in response to an escalating take-up of solar panels.
That will take the level of subsidy from a peak of about $6200 up to June 30 this year, to about $1200 for a basic 1.5kw system after July 1, 2013.
Mr Combet deemed the move necessary because soaring demand for panels was pushing up power prices and reducing demand for other clean-energy technology.
Australian Solar Energy Society CEO John Grimes welcomed this move: "Solar companies have had enough of the roller-coaster ride brought about by constant policy changes. The roller coaster ride needs to slow down and stop."
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Prices still too low, says Alumina
ALUMINA says that despite a 28 per cent jump in alumina prices over the past year, prices are still too low.
It also says the strong Australian dollar and higher energy prices are constraining group performance.
Chairman Don Morley said margins for the commodity were tighter than they should be and its price did not reflect the economics of producing and selling it.
He said China had been able to expand alumina and aluminium production capacity to meet demand, which had limited price increases.
Alumina chief John Bevan told shareholders global demand for aluminium was expected to expand by 12 per cent this year due to China-fuelled growth.
The company has a 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, the world's biggest alumina business. Alumina shares were up 2c at $2.28.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the level of subsidy would be reduced faster than previously planned in response to an escalating take-up of solar panels.
That will take the level of subsidy from a peak of about $6200 up to June 30 this year, to about $1200 for a basic 1.5kw system after July 1, 2013.
Mr Combet deemed the move necessary because soaring demand for panels was pushing up power prices and reducing demand for other clean-energy technology.
Australian Solar Energy Society CEO John Grimes welcomed this move: "Solar companies have had enough of the roller-coaster ride brought about by constant policy changes. The roller coaster ride needs to slow down and stop."
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Prices still too low, says Alumina
ALUMINA says that despite a 28 per cent jump in alumina prices over the past year, prices are still too low.
It also says the strong Australian dollar and higher energy prices are constraining group performance.
Chairman Don Morley said margins for the commodity were tighter than they should be and its price did not reflect the economics of producing and selling it.
He said China had been able to expand alumina and aluminium production capacity to meet demand, which had limited price increases.
Alumina chief John Bevan told shareholders global demand for aluminium was expected to expand by 12 per cent this year due to China-fuelled growth.
The company has a 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, the world's biggest alumina business. Alumina shares were up 2c at $2.28.
2011年4月26日星期二
MiaSole Turns to Intel for Manufacturing Tips
Intel is known for its manufacturing might, and its ability to roll out chips speedily in giant factories. Can that knowledge help a solar startup? MiaSole announced Tuesday it has enlisted the chip giant to help the company scale up its thin-film solar production.
Eight Intel folks have been embedded at MiaSole’s factory since last month to provide advice and employee training, said Rob DeLine, VP of marketing at MiaSole. MiaSole makes solar panels using copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), a combination that requires precise layering and distribution of the materials to achieved desired efficiencies. CIGS panels have the potential to rival the more popular silicon panels in efficiency and price, but the vast majority of CIGS companies are small and in the process of working on beefing up their manufacturing operations.
Turning to Intel for consultation seems unusual, given Intel isn’t a solar manufacturer, though it has invested in some solar production, including another CIGS solar panel manufacturer in Germany: Surfurcell. There are some similarities between chips and solar panels, mainly, that they rely primarily on silicon wafers as the building block. Chips are, in fact, much more complex to engineer and make.
Though making solar cells and assembling them into panels is more simple than making chips, scaling up a solar factory is no easy task. Plenty of companies have learned that controlling the quality and consistency of their production can take far longer than expected.
DeLine made it clear the Intel experts aren’t stationed at MiaSole to help MiaSole tinker with its core technology of making CIGS solar cells. Instead, the experts will offer a slew of recommendations for key areas of factory efficiency that may not be obvious to those who aren’t familiar with manufacturing in general.
“Regardless of the product types, anybody who is in high volume manufacturing faces some common issues, such as tool uptime, how fast you do preventive maintenance and when and how you do (employee) shift changes,” DeLine said. “We are delighted and absolutely thrilled to be able to learn from one of the best regarded manufacturers in any industry.”
With Intel’s help, MiaSole hopes to speed up its near-term plan to boost production and lower costs. MiaSole has about 50 MW of annual production capacity and expects to cross over 150 MW by the end of this year, DeLine said. MiaSole hopes the chip giant’s advice can help it achieve that year-end goal earlier rather than later in the fourth quarter, he added. The contract with Intel will last through 2012, and the companies aren’t disclosing financial terms of the contract.
MiaSole shipped 22 MW of solar panels in 2010 and expects to ship over 80 MW in 2011, then more than 200 MW in 2012, DeLine said. The company’s large customers include Germany-based Juwi Solar, which signed a 600MW supply agreement last year. MiaSole also inked a supply deal with SolarCity to install its panels on Walmart stores last year; MiaSole has completed the 5 MW delivery and expects “further opportunity in 2011,” DeLine said.
Make or Break Time
MiaSole is at a critical juncture where it needs to boost its production capacity and speed quickly. The company has had its share of struggles developing a technology that can rival others in efficiency and start developing it in large volumes. The current CEO, Joseph Laia, took over in 2007 to fix these problems, and the company hunkered down for about a year before announcing new progress. The company didn’t start commercial shipment until October 2009, Laia told me.
While MiaSole works out its kinks, the solar market has grown quickly and attracted the entrance of well-funded manufacturers who have built factories in the hundreds of megawatts. Several of the top 10 manufacturers in the world today make silicon panels and boast more than 1 GW of production capacity. Many of MiaSole’s fellow CIGS solar panel producers are working on building larger factories. Stion, for example, is working on a 100 MW factory in Mississippi. SoloPower is planning a factory in Oregon that eventually could reach 400 MW of annual capacity.
MiaSole previously has set a goal of reaching a manufacturing cost of 85 cents per watt, which it believes it could hit when it reaches 120 MW of production capacity, DeLine said. The company previously had hoped to reach that by the end of 2010. MiaSole and its peers are chasing after First Solar, which claims to have the lowest manufacturing cost and achieved 75 cents per watt by the end of 2010. But it reached that figure with 1.4 GW of factories. Incidentally, First Solar’s manufacturing operation has grown under the watch of a former Intel executive, Bruce Sohn, who’s leaving the solar company at the end of the month.
MiaSole, which had been making solar panels with 10.5 percent efficiency for some time, began shipping panels with higher efficiency this month, DeLine said. While he declined to say how efficient, DeLine said the panels are more efficient than the 11.6 percent panels achieved by First Solar by the end of 2010.
MiaSole last raised a $106 million round in the fourth quarter of last year, DeLine said. The company is reportedly looking to go public as early as this year. DeLine said MiaSole’s managers and investors have been thinking about doing an IPO but the company isn’t saying more at this point.
Eight Intel folks have been embedded at MiaSole’s factory since last month to provide advice and employee training, said Rob DeLine, VP of marketing at MiaSole. MiaSole makes solar panels using copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), a combination that requires precise layering and distribution of the materials to achieved desired efficiencies. CIGS panels have the potential to rival the more popular silicon panels in efficiency and price, but the vast majority of CIGS companies are small and in the process of working on beefing up their manufacturing operations.
Turning to Intel for consultation seems unusual, given Intel isn’t a solar manufacturer, though it has invested in some solar production, including another CIGS solar panel manufacturer in Germany: Surfurcell. There are some similarities between chips and solar panels, mainly, that they rely primarily on silicon wafers as the building block. Chips are, in fact, much more complex to engineer and make.
Though making solar cells and assembling them into panels is more simple than making chips, scaling up a solar factory is no easy task. Plenty of companies have learned that controlling the quality and consistency of their production can take far longer than expected.
DeLine made it clear the Intel experts aren’t stationed at MiaSole to help MiaSole tinker with its core technology of making CIGS solar cells. Instead, the experts will offer a slew of recommendations for key areas of factory efficiency that may not be obvious to those who aren’t familiar with manufacturing in general.
“Regardless of the product types, anybody who is in high volume manufacturing faces some common issues, such as tool uptime, how fast you do preventive maintenance and when and how you do (employee) shift changes,” DeLine said. “We are delighted and absolutely thrilled to be able to learn from one of the best regarded manufacturers in any industry.”
With Intel’s help, MiaSole hopes to speed up its near-term plan to boost production and lower costs. MiaSole has about 50 MW of annual production capacity and expects to cross over 150 MW by the end of this year, DeLine said. MiaSole hopes the chip giant’s advice can help it achieve that year-end goal earlier rather than later in the fourth quarter, he added. The contract with Intel will last through 2012, and the companies aren’t disclosing financial terms of the contract.
MiaSole shipped 22 MW of solar panels in 2010 and expects to ship over 80 MW in 2011, then more than 200 MW in 2012, DeLine said. The company’s large customers include Germany-based Juwi Solar, which signed a 600MW supply agreement last year. MiaSole also inked a supply deal with SolarCity to install its panels on Walmart stores last year; MiaSole has completed the 5 MW delivery and expects “further opportunity in 2011,” DeLine said.
Make or Break Time
MiaSole is at a critical juncture where it needs to boost its production capacity and speed quickly. The company has had its share of struggles developing a technology that can rival others in efficiency and start developing it in large volumes. The current CEO, Joseph Laia, took over in 2007 to fix these problems, and the company hunkered down for about a year before announcing new progress. The company didn’t start commercial shipment until October 2009, Laia told me.
While MiaSole works out its kinks, the solar market has grown quickly and attracted the entrance of well-funded manufacturers who have built factories in the hundreds of megawatts. Several of the top 10 manufacturers in the world today make silicon panels and boast more than 1 GW of production capacity. Many of MiaSole’s fellow CIGS solar panel producers are working on building larger factories. Stion, for example, is working on a 100 MW factory in Mississippi. SoloPower is planning a factory in Oregon that eventually could reach 400 MW of annual capacity.
MiaSole previously has set a goal of reaching a manufacturing cost of 85 cents per watt, which it believes it could hit when it reaches 120 MW of production capacity, DeLine said. The company previously had hoped to reach that by the end of 2010. MiaSole and its peers are chasing after First Solar, which claims to have the lowest manufacturing cost and achieved 75 cents per watt by the end of 2010. But it reached that figure with 1.4 GW of factories. Incidentally, First Solar’s manufacturing operation has grown under the watch of a former Intel executive, Bruce Sohn, who’s leaving the solar company at the end of the month.
MiaSole, which had been making solar panels with 10.5 percent efficiency for some time, began shipping panels with higher efficiency this month, DeLine said. While he declined to say how efficient, DeLine said the panels are more efficient than the 11.6 percent panels achieved by First Solar by the end of 2010.
MiaSole last raised a $106 million round in the fourth quarter of last year, DeLine said. The company is reportedly looking to go public as early as this year. DeLine said MiaSole’s managers and investors have been thinking about doing an IPO but the company isn’t saying more at this point.
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