Greentech Lead Asia: LDK Solar, a vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, has reported net sales of $104.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to $135.9 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, and$200.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
The company has shipped 240.0 megawatts (MW) of wafers, 31.4 MW of cells and modules in the first quarter.
Gross loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 was $59.5 million, compared to gross loss of $97.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, and gross loss of $131.0 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
During the preparation of its first quarter 2013 financial results, LDK Solar’s management determined that an inventory write-down of$15.1 million was required as a result of a continuous weakness in market price for polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules caused by industry-wide over capacity and much heated market competition. As a result, gross margin and results from operations were negatively impacted in the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the company said.
LDK Solar was in headlines in April when it partially defaulted on a $24 million bond. LDK has another US$240 million in debt. To meet this, the company entered into a share purchase agreement with Fulai Investments Limited. Under this agreement, Fulai agreed to purchase additional 25,000,000 newly issued ordinary shares of LDK Solar, at a purchase price of US$1.03 per share with an aggregate purchase price of US$25,750,000.
“The first quarter operating environment remained challenging for the solar industry,” stated Xingxue Tong, president and CEO of LDK Solar. “We are undertaking a number of initiatives focused on the restructuring of our business. We are working closely with our stakeholders and relevant governmental agencies to negotiate solutions.”
Tong also said the company will try to improve its cost structure by driving down production costs, tightening operating expenses and adapting our overall business to the evolving demand environment to position LDK Solar for long-term growth.
“While China still represents the strongest global growth opportunity, we believe that Southeast Asia, Africa, India and the US are among several emerging markets with additional growth potential. We are focused on increasing our market share in these areas, and recently reported that we signed a module supply contract with a leading PV project developer in Thailand,” Tong added.
“Current conditions notwithstanding, we continue to believe there is a substantial market opportunity to address global energy needs with solar power,” Tong said.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2013, LDK Solar estimates its revenue to be in the range of $100 million to $150 million, wafer shipments between 250 MW and 300 MW and cell and module shipments between 30 MW and 40 MW.