UPDATE: Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Misses Q4 EPS by 8c, Offers Q1 Guidance
Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) reported Q4 EPS of $0.24, $0.08 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.32. Revenue for the quarter came in at $668.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $690.27 million.
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 first quarter of 2017, the Company expects total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 1.15 GW to 1.2 GW, including approximately 120 MW of shipments to the Company's utility-scale solar power projects that may not be recognized as revenue in first quarter 2017. Total revenue for the first quarter of 2017 is expected to be in the range of $570 million to $590 million. Gross margin for the first quarter is expected to be between 13% and 15%.
For the full year 2017, the Company expects total module shipments to be in the range of approximately 6.5 GW to 7.0 GW, with approximately 6.17 GW recognized in revenue. The Company expects to connect (COD) approximately 1 GW to 1.2GW of new solar projects globally in 2017. These projects are located in the U.S., Japan, China, UK, India, Brazil and Africa. Total revenue for the full year 2017 is expected to be in the range of $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion. We expect 50% to 60% of the total full year 2017 revenue to come from our Solar Module and Components Business, while the balance will come from our Energy Business. The Energy Business revenue will mainly come from monetization of the Company's high quality solar power plant assets in the U.S., Japan, China, UK and Brazil. The Company expects its cost of production will decrease throughout the year as new internal wafer, cell and module capacity comes online, both inside and outside China, and the percentage of external purchases and OEM is reduced. Management expects that the increase in vertical integration along the manufacturing steps will help the Company maintain or improve its gross margin.
(Street sees Q1 revenue of $679.2 million)
For earnings history and earnings-related data on Canadian Solar (CSIQ) click here.