Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) Post Larger Q1 Profit; Guides Q2 PV Shipments

(Updated - May 21, 2014 7:14 AM EDT)

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) reported Q1 EPS of $0.37, which may not compare to analyst estimate of $0.03 but is up from $0.21 last year. Revenue for the quarter came in at $444.8 million versus the consensus estimate of $452.55 million.

Solar module shipments were 558.0 MW during the first quarter of 2014, compared to 770.1 MW in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trina Solar commented, "I am pleased to report that we delivered another set of solid results despite some headwinds in the first quarter. We remain focused on maintaining profitable growth as opposed to pursuing volume growth alone. By employing this strategy, we increased our gross margin to 20.6% this quarter, a significant improvement from the previous quarter's 15.1%. This improvement underpinned a net income increase of 73.5% quarter-over-quarter. Trina continues to see the positive impact of our focus on efficient operations, controlled business expansion and disciplined financial management.

"We have made further progress adjusting our sales mix to achieve relatively stable ASP in spite of the general downward trend in prices. This is critical to our sustainable growth and long-term profitability. In this quarter, our shipments to high ASP regions, such as Japan, grew significantly, accounting for 30% of our total external shipments. We have also further penetrated into new and emerging markets by leveraging our strong on-the-ground sales networks and our industry-leading technology to deliver high quality solar solutions tailored for each region.

Q2 Guidance:

In the second quarter of 2014 the Company expects to ship between 950 MW and 1,010 MW of PV modules, of which 150 MW to 170 MW will be shipped to its downstream PV projects. Revenues will not be recognized for the modules shipped to its own developed projects as required by U.S. GAAP regulations.

The Company expects that polysilicon prices will remain relatively stable with upward pressure. This will adversely impact its gross margin. The Company will continue to work diligently to reduce its in-house manufacturing costs to mitigate any adverse impact to its gross margin. The Company expects its blended gross margin for the second quarter of 2014 will be in the mid-teens in percentage terms. Such guidance is based on the exchange rate between the Euro and the U.S. dollar as of May 21, 2014.

Trina reaffirmed FY14 PV module shipment expectations and completed downstream PV projects.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) click here.

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