A employee installs First Photo voltaic Inc. photovoltaic photo voltaic panels on the Agua Caliente Photo voltaic Undertaking in Yuma County, Arizona.
Joshua Lott | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
Shares of First Solar dropped greater than 16% throughout prolonged buying and selling Tuesday after the corporate reported lacking income expectations throughout the fourth quarter and issued weak full-year steerage.
The solar-panel producer has confronted rising uncooked materials prices and provide chain bottlenecks.
This is how the corporate did in its fourth-quarter outcomes relative to estimates compiled by Refinitiv:
- EPS: $1.23 per share vs. $1.06 anticipated
- Income: $907 million vs. $918 million
First Photo voltaic’s full-year steerage additionally got here up in need of Wall Avenue’s expectations. The corporate expects income between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion, whereas Wall Avenue was calling for $2.76 billion.
The corporate expects earnings per share to be between breakeven and 60 cents for the total yr, effectively in need of the $1.92 analysts have been anticipating.
First Photo voltaic CEO Mark Widmar mentioned the solar-manufacturing trade confronted a yr of “provide chain, logistics, value and pandemic-related challenges.”
The corporate additionally introduced that it is in advanced-stage discussions to promote its undertaking growth and operations and upkeep platform in Japan.
Trying forward, Widmar mentioned 2022 will likely be a “pivotal yr,” with “vital funding” throughout manufacturing growth, new producers, R & D and new contracting methods.
However, on the convention name following the corporate’s quarterly replace, administration conceded that 2022 is anticipated to be a difficult yr from an earnings standpoint, particularly attributable to elevated freight prices. Costs for contracted volumes have risen between 200% and 300% above pre-pandemic ranges, First Photo voltaic mentioned. In 2022, the corporate expects contracted freight charges to leap 100% yr over yr.
Together with elevated prices, transit instances even have elevated, whereas “reliability and availability has considerably worsened, pushing extra quantity into the next value spot market.”
The corporate additionally pointed to rising commodity prices, together with a 40% bounce in metal costs all through 2021.
This story is creating, please verify again for updates.
