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Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Reports In-Line Q3 EPS; Sees Q4 Shipments Up Sequentially

November 21, 2016 6:04 AM EST

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) reported Q3 EPS of $0.27, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.27. Revenue for the quarter came in at $657.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $685.28 million.

Total solar module shipments were 1,185 MW, of which 1,161 MW was recognized in revenue, compared to 1,290 MW recognized in revenue in the second quarter of 2016, and third quarter guidance in the range of 1,200 MW to 1,300 MW.

Business Outlook

The Company's business outlook is based on management's current views and estimates with respect to operating and market conditions, its current order book and the global financing environment. It is also subject to uncertainty relating to customer final demand and solar project construction schedule. Management's views and estimates are subject to change without notice.

For the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company expects total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 1.4 GW to 1.5 GW, including approximately 30 MW of shipments to the Company's utility-scale solar power projects that may not be recognized as revenue in fourth quarter 2016. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 is expected to be in the range of $600 million to $750 million. Gross margin for the fourth quarter is expected to be between 11% and 16%.

The recent demand for the Company's solar module products has been very strong. The shipment volume in the fourth quarter is impacted by the availability of the Company's solar module manufacturing capacities. The Company is overbooked for the current quarter and fully booked for the first quarter of 2017. As a result, the Company has to use third party solar modules for some of its own projects, in order to satisfy the demand from its solar module customers. The gross margin in the quarter is impacted by the loss-of-service of the company's 1 GW solar cell factory in Funning damaged by a tornado in June and the delay in construction of the company's 850 MW new cell factory in Southeast Asia. The company expects to bring the Funning cell factory partially back in service at the end of the year and fully back in service by June 2017. Meanwhile, the Company expects to start production on its new cell factory in Southeast Asia in the first quarter of 2017.

The Company expects to complete the sale of certain utility-scale solar power plants in Canada and China either in the fourth quarter of 2016 or early 2017. The total value of these solar power plants is estimated at approximately $500 million with a blended gross margin in high teens. According to US GAAP, the Company expects to recognize approximately $150 million of the proceeds of these sales as revenue. The remaining proceeds, net of the book value of the projects, estimated at $50 million to $55 million, will be recognized as gain from sale of projects under 'Other income (expenses)' in the income statement. The actual figures may be different, subject to the adjustments at the final closing. The Company expects to reach the high end of its revenue and gross margin guidance if all these solar power plant sales are completed in the fourth quarter, or the low end of the revenue and gross margin guidance if all these projects sales are closed in 2017 instead.

Accordingly, for the full year 2016, the Company expects its guidance for total module shipments to be in the range of approximately 5.073 GW to 5.173 GW, compared to 5.4 GW to 5.5 GW as previously guided. Management expects its revenue under US GAAP for the full year 2016 to be in the range of $2.78 billion to $2.94 billion, compared to $3.0 billion to $3.2 billion as previously expected. The updated revenue guidance is based on US GAAP, therefore, does not contain the sales of approximately $300 million of solar power plant assets, which may occur in the fourth quarter or early 2017, as previously discussed.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Canadian Solar (CSIQ) click here.



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