SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) yesterday announced increased quarterly earnings and slightly raised its full-year profit forecast.
The San Jose, California-based solar company reported 3Q08 revenue of $377.5 million compared to $382.8 million in the second quarter of 2008 and $234.3 million in 3Q07.
Net income rose to $22.4 million, or $0.26 cents per share, from $8.4 million, or $0.10 cents per share, a year ago.
SunPower reported total gross margin of 29.2%, operating income of $73.3 million and diluted net income per share of $0.60. This compares with prior-quarter non-GAAP gross margin of 26.4%, total operating income of $67.6 million and $0.61 diluted net income per share.
Overall gross margin improvement reflected continued growth in SunPower’s Components segment gross margin, the company said.
The company also said it expects full-year 2008 net income of $2.34 to $2.41 per share, up from the $2.26 to $2.36 the company forecast at the end of 2Q08.
SunPower said revenue will climb to between $1.44 billion and $1.46 billion from the $1.39 billion to $1.44 billion predicted earlier.
"In the third-quarter, SunPower continued to demonstrate the advantage of a multi-segment, multi-geographic, vertical integration strategy as we executed very well in an evolving policy environment," said Tom Werner, SunPower’s CEO. "By leveraging our flexible model, we expanded our global footprint, opened up new markets and laid the foundation for long-term success. Overall, global industry fundamentals remain strong and demand is increasing across multiple geographies."
"Our cost reduction programs remain on track, enabling us to open up new markets such as the U.S. utility market where the combination of our tracking and industry leading cell technologies offer utilities a very competitive levelized cost of energy. In a watershed announcement for the industry, we were selected by PG&E to supply the California utility with 250-megawatts of solar power by 2012. This project will be the first, true utility-scale photovoltaic power plant in the world when completed, delivering an average of 550,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. The project is contracted to begin power delivery in 2010 and be fully operational in 2012."
About SunPower
SunPower Corporation designs, manufactures and delivers solar-electric systems worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. SunPower says its high-efficiency solar cells and solar panels generate up to 50% more power than conventional solar technologies and have a uniquely attractive, all-black appearance. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
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