First Solar, Inc. Announces 2007 Fourth Quarter and Year-end Financial Results
Wednesday February 13, 7:02 am ET
First Solar, Inc. (NasdaqGS:FSLR), a maker of thin-film solar equipment, posted strong increases in revenue today.
The company, which is rapidly expanding its production capacity, had been hit by the broad sell-off in alternative energy stocks this year, but the report sent its shares soaring more than 20%, according to a Reuters report.
For the fourth quarter ended, December 29, 2007, First Solar reported revenues of $200.8 million, up from $159.0 million in Q307 and up from $52.7 million in Q406.
Revenues for FY07 were $504.0 million, up from $135.0 million in FY06, according to a company release.
First Solar reported net income for Q407 of $62.9 million or $0.77 per share, compared to net income of $46.0 million or $0.58 per share for Q307. Net income for Q307 included a one time tax benefit of $7.5 million, the company said.
In comparison, net income for Q406 was $8.0 million or $0.11 per share on a fully diluted pro-forma basis.
Net income for FY07 was $158.4 million or $2.03 per share compared to net income of $4.0 million for FY06 or $0.05 per share.
"During the fourth quarter of 2007 we benefited from the full capacity and economies of scale of our Frankfurt/Oder plant. This combined with continued throughput and conversion efficiency gains afforded us strong operating leverage and decreased our manufacturing cost per watt by 12% year over year to $1.12 per watt in the fourth quarter of 2007, further solidifying our cost leadership position in the industry,” said Michael J. Ahearn, CEO of First Solar.
About First Solar
First Solar, Inc. manufactures solar modules with an advaced thin film semiconductor process that significantly lowers solar electricity costs. By enabling clean renewable electricity at affordable prices, First Solar provides an economic alternative to peak conventional electricity and the related fossil fuel dependence, greenhouse gas emissions and peak time grid constraints.
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