Xinyu City, China and Sunnyvale, California, December 19, 2007 – LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LDK), a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, today reported its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007.
All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.
Third Quarter 2007 Financial Highlights:
* Revenue of $158.7 million, up 60% quarter-over-quarter
* Gross profit of $48.9 million, up 40% quarter-over-quarter
* Net income of $41.6 million, or $0.37 per diluted ADS, up 45% quarter-over-quarter
* Signed four long-term wafer supply agreements during the third quarter
* Total wafer shipments increased 49% sequentially to 78.9MW in the third quarter
Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 were $158.7 million, up 60.2% sequentially from $99.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and up 404.7% year-over-year from $31.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
Gross profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 was $48.9 million, up 40.2% sequentially from $34.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and up 295.1% year-over-year from $12.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2006.Gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 was 30.8% compared with 35.2% in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 and 39.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 was $41.6 million, or $0.37 per diluted ADS, compared to net income of $28.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted ADS for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and $5.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted ADS for the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
The Company ended the third quarter of fiscal 2007 with $125.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
“We are pleased to report strong results for the third quarter, following a positive outcome of the independent inventory review,” stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar.“With the inventory investigation behind us, we have returned our focus to growing our business.During the third quarter we experienced continued robust demand for our wafers and made great strides in expanding our customer base.We signed four long-term wafer supply contracts during the third quarter and five more since the quarter closed. We view these agreements as a testament to the quality of our products.
“We remain on track to meet our wafer production capacity goal of 400MW by the end of 2007. Additionally, the construction of our polysilicon plant is tracking with our original plan.In addition to the anticipated cost efficiencies we expect to achieve upon completion of our polysilicon plant, we are continuing cost reduction efforts through further advancements of our product processes,” concluded Mr. Peng.
Business Outlook
The following statements are based upon management’s current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, LDK estimates revenue to be in the range of $180 to $185 million for wafer shipments of 87 to 92MW.The Company also estimates fully diluted earnings per ADS to be in the range of $0.40 to $0.43.
LDK Solar’s 3rd-qtr profit soars eightfold
Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:11pm EST
NEW YORK, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Solar wafer maker LDK Solar Co Ltd (LDK) reported a more-than-eightfold increase in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, boosted by an expanded customer base and strong demand.
But stock in the Jiangxi, China-based company fell in after-hours trading to $62.90 from its New York Stock Exchange close of $66.11.
The results came two days after LDK Solar said an audit cleared it of allegations it had overstated silicon inventories.
Net income jumped to $41.6 million, or 37 cents per diluted American Depository Share (ADS), from $5.0 million, or 4 cents per diluted ADS, for the third quarter of fiscal 2006.
Sales increased over 400 percent to $158.7 million.
Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 37 cents on revenues of $145.35 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
“With the inventory investigation behind us, we have returned our focus to growing our business,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Xiaofeng Peng.
Third-quarter results were driven by continued robust demand for wafers as LDK Solar expanded its customer base. The company signed four long-term wafer supply contracts during the third quarter and five more since the quarter closed.
LDK Solar is on track to meet wafer production capacity goals by the end of 2007, and construction of a polysilicon plant is on track with the original plan, Peng said.
Polysilicon is used to manufacture solar wafers in solar panels that turn sunlight into electricity. Tight supplies of the material have driven up costs for some solar wafer producers.
For the fourth quarter, LDK Solar estimated revenue in the range of $180 million to $185 million, with diluted earnings in the range of 40 cents to 43 cents per ADS.
Analysts currently expect earnings of 40 cents per ADS on revenue of $166.2 million.
(Reporting by Steve James; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)