Canadian Solar expects lower revenue and profit in 2019

Canadian Solar at a trade show

Canadian Solar announced it is expecting solar module shipments of 1.3 GW to 1.4 GW in the first quarter of 2019.

Canadian Solar is targeting revenue of $450 million to $480 million for the first quarter of 2019. Gross margin for the first quarter is expected to be between 16 percent and 18 percent.

The solar PW company expects the net profit for the first quarter of 2019 to be low or negative, primarily due to typical lower production and sales volume during the Chinese New Year holiday, IT upgrade, a lower module ASP, decreased sales of solar power projects.

Canadian Solar is targeting module shipments of approximately 7.4 GW to 7.8 GW in 2019 and revenue of $3.5 billion to $3.8 billion.

The revenue guidance reflects the impact of a lower module ASP and lower revenue from solar project sales. The company currently expects its net profit for 2019 will be lower than 2018.

Shawn Qu, chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, said: “The acceleration of certain high profit project sales contributed to our success in 2018. This acceleration will result in a reduction in solar project sale revenue and profit in 2019.”

Canadian Solar expects lower profit from module manufacturing business due to higher costs caused by the appreciation of the Chinese RMB against the U.S. dollar and Euro over the past few months.

Canadian Solar reported revenue of $901 million (+17.3 percent). Its net revenue declined 18.7 percent from $1.11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to a lower average module selling price and reduction in project revenue.

Total solar module shipments were 6,615 MW in 2018, compared to 6,828 MW in 2017.

Canadian Solar’s net revenue was $3.74 billion in 2018, compared to $3.39 billion in 2017. Net income of Canadian Solar was $237.1 million compared to $99.6 million, or $1.69 per diluted share in 2017.