GT Solar International, Inc. Reports Results for Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010

November 9, 2009 4:15 PM EST

Revenue of $104.2 million; net income of $9.4 million; EPS of $.06 and cash of $204 million

MERRIMACK, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR), a global provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for the solar power industry, today reported results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2010, which ended September 26, 2009.

Revenue for the second fiscal quarter totaled $104.2 million, compared with $140.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. Revenue for the second fiscal quarter included $62.4 million in the PV segment and $41.8 million in the polysilicon segment.

Gross profit for the quarter totaled $34.3 million, or 32.9 percent of revenue, compared to $61.4 million, or 43.8 percent of revenue, for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. The company's gross margin for the first half of fiscal 2010 was 39.3 percent. Operating margin for the quarter was 14.8 percent, compared to 30.8 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Operating margin for the first half of fiscal year 2010 was 17.6 percent. The company had net income of $9.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 versus $27.9 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2009. Earnings per share in the second quarter on a fully diluted basis were $0.06, versus $0.19 for the same quarter last year.

At quarter's end, the company's backlog was $1.03 billion, with $279 million in the PV segment and $752 million in the polysilicon segment. New orders for the quarter, net of de-bookings, were $20.1 million.

Management Commentary

"Our focus has been and continues to be on strengthening GT Solar's competitive and technology leadership positions in the solar equipment industry," said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. "In fiscal year 2010 to date, we have posted solid financial results, maintained what we believe to be one of the industry's strongest balance sheets with $204 million of cash and no debt, and we are continuing to significantly increase our investment in R&D.

"In the second quarter, we received new orders of $30.7 million including the first for our new SDR-400 reactor and for engineering services in our new silane business, as well as an order for our multi-crystalline furnaces from a new customer that has historically been a mono-crystalline wafer manufacturer," continued Gutierrez. "We are also seeing continued evidence that our reputation for quality, performance and industry-leading efficiencies is providing strong differentiation in the marketplace."

Business Outlook

The company indicated today that its previous guidance for fiscal year ending April 3, 2010, for revenue of $450 million to $550 million and fully diluted earnings per share of $0.45 to $0.60, remains unchanged. The company also indicated its overall gross margin for the year is expected to be comparable to its year to date gross margin of approximately 39 percent.

Conference Call, Webcast

The company will host a live conference call and webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today with Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer, and Rich Johnson, vice president of finance.

To listen to the conference call, callers in the United States and Canada may dial 1.800.510.9834. International callers may dial 1.617.614.3669. The conference call passcode is SOLR. A link to the live audio webcast of the company's earnings conference call may be found under 'Events' at http://investor.gtsolar.com/.

A telephone replay will be available through January 8, 2010. To listen to the replay, callers in the United States and Canada may dial 1.888.286.8010. International callers may dial 1.617.801.6888. The replay passcode is 18866870.

About GT Solar International, Inc.

GT Solar International, Inc., based in Merrimack, NH, USA, is a leading global provider of specialized production equipment, process technology and turnkey manufacturing services for the solar power industry. The company's products and services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and lower their cost of ownership, accelerating the drive towards grid parity. For additional information about GT Solar, please visit www.gtsolar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking in nature, including statements regarding the Company's future as a leading equipment and technology supplier for the global solar power industry, the Company's new products and technologies and the Company's estimates for future periods with respect to revenue, earnings per share, gross margin or other financial information. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company's control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. These factors may include the possibility that the Company is unable to recognize revenue on contracts in its order backlog. Although the Company's backlog as indicated above is based on signed purchase orders or other written contractual commitments in effect as of the end of our second fiscal quarter, we cannot guarantee that our bookings or order backlog will result in actual revenue in the originally anticipated period or at all, which could reduce our revenue, profitability and liquidity. Other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include the possibility that technological changes could render existing products or technologies obsolete, the Company may be unable to protect its intellectual property rights, competition from other manufacturers may increase, exchange rate fluctuations and conditions in the credit markets and economy may reduce demand for the Company's products and various other risks as outlined in GT Solar International, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the statements under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal 2009 filed on June 9, 2009 and Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 filed on August 5, 2009. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. GT Solar International, Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands except per share data)

(Unaudited)

                                                     September 26,   March 28,
                                                     2009            2009

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents                            $ 204,257       $ 107,148

Accounts receivable, net                               24,325          57,552

Inventories                                            78,665          103,476

Advances on inventory purchases                        50,897          120,227

Deferred costs                                         226,461         174,961

Deferred income taxes                                  27,164          25,498

Refundable and prepaid income taxes                    677             40,329

Prepaid expenses and other current assets              1,724           2,825

Total current assets                                   614,170         632,016

Property, plant and equipment, net                     17,895          18,856

Other assets                                           777             940

Intangible assets, net                                 4,786           6,368

Deferred cost                                          66,538          36,643

Advances on inventory purchases                        15,040          --

Goodwill                                               42,600          42,600

Total assets                                         $ 761,806       $ 737,423

Liabilities and stockholders' equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable                                     $ 13,400        $ 50,832

Accrued expenses                                       13,644          15,695

Customer deposits                                      135,434         222,654

Deferred revenue                                       364,232         285,005

Accrued income taxes                                   --              158

Total current liabilities                              526,710         574,344

Deferred income taxes                                  20,577          15,647

Deferred revenue                                       107,290         63,122

Other non-current liabilities                          965             2,405

Total liabilities                                      655,542         655,518

Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)                 --              --

Stockholders' equity:

Preferred stock, 10,000 shares authorized, none        --              --
issued and outstanding

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 500,000 shares
authorized; 143,382 and 143,048 shares                 1,434           1,431
issued and outstanding as of September 26, 2009 and
March 28, 2009 respectively

Additional paid-in capital                             83,636          80,070

Accumulated other comprehensive loss                   (4,813  )       (8,389  )

Retained earnings                                      26,007          8,793

Total stockholders' equity                             106,264         81,905

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity           $ 761,806       $ 737,423

GT Solar International, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

                   Three Months Ended              Six Months Ended

                   September 26,   September 27,   September 26,   September 27,
                   2009            2008            2009            2008

Revenue            $ 104,193       $ 140,192       $ 176,012       $ 197,274

Cost of revenue    69,934          78,821          106,788         111,606

Gross profit       34,259          61,371          69,224          85,668

Operating
expenses:

Research and       4,637           4,049           11,036          7,865
development

Selling and        3,158           5,044           7,025           8,828
marketing

General and        10,237          8,348           18,566          16,124
administrative

Amortization of    791             762             1,582           1,553
intangible assets

Total operating    18,823          18,203          38,209          34,370
expenses

Income from        15,436          43,168          31,015          51,298
operations

Interest income
(expense):

Interest income    122             1,069           164             2,321

Interest expense   (204)           (67)            (381)           (67)

Interest
component of
forward foreign    --              1,368           (639)           1,944
exchange
contracts

Other income       182             (1,657)         (2,181)         (3,099)
(expense), net

Income before      15,536          43,881          27,978          52,397
income taxes

Provision for      6,101           15,939          10,764          19,312
income taxes

Net income         $ 9,435         $ 27,942        $ 17,214        $ 33,085

Income per share:

Basic              $ 0.07          $ 0.20          $ 0.12          $ 0.23

Diluted            $ 0.06          $ 0.19          $ 0.12          $ 0.23

Dividend paid per  --              $ 0.632         --              $ 0.632
common share

Weighted average
number of common
shares
outstanding:

Basic              143,339         142,398         143,228         142,344

Diluted            145,198         145,075         145,265         145,119

    Source: GT Solar International, Inc.

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