Canadian Solar Posts Strong Second Quarter With Increased Shipments & Revenue

Canadian Solar, one of the world’s largest solar power companies, this week posted strong second quarter results with increased revenue and shipments, but traders were immediately, if temporarily, concerned by Q3 revenue guidance below analyst expectations.

Total Canadian Solar module shipments for the second quarter reached an impressive 1,745 MW (megawatts), well up on the 1,480 MW shipped in the first quarter, in excess of the company’s own second quarter guidance of between 1,530 MW to 1,580 MW, and up on the 1,290 MW shipped in the second quarter a year ago.

Net revenue for the quarter tells a different story, however, but a story well within the company’s guidance. Net revenue for the second quarter of 2016 for shipments worth 1,290 MW was $805.9 million. A year later, however, on shipments of 1,745 MW, net revenue was $692.4 million — compared to $677 million taken in during the first quarter of 2017 and second quarter guidance of between $615.0 million to $635.0 million. Of course, this is well within expectations considering the spiraling decreases in solar costs over the past few years, but it is nevertheless an interesting example of just how dramatically solar has declined in price recently.

“Q2 was a solid quarter, with solar module shipments, revenue and gross margin all coming in above guidance,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

“We are pleased with our second quarter results,” added Dr. Huifeng Chang, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Solar. “The higher module shipments were driven by strong demand for solar modules in China, India, Japan and the U.S., with the gross margin improvement due to higher than expected average selling price and better cost controls.”

While the quarter was a strong one, trading in the immediate aftermath of the company’s earnings report fell dramatically, with investors concerned with expected revenue of between $805 million to $825 million coming in below analyst expectations. However, trading stabilized by the end of the day and through Tuesday, continuing the up-and-down rollercoaster ride that has been the company’s share prices over the last month. The company expects shipments to be in the range of approximately 1.65 GW and 1.70 GW.