Chinese solar PV manufacturer Yingli Green Energy announced at the end of last month that it had been notified by the New York Stock Exchange that its shares will be de-listed as the company was not able to maintain an average global market capitalization within prescribed standards.
Yingli Green Energy (also referred to as Yingli Solar) has been in dire straits for some time now. Even in the past 18 months, the company has reported continually low performance and guidance each quarter. In March of 2017, the company announced the formation of a special committee to consider potential debt repayment solutions. A few months later, in September, the company shipped a record of 1,146.6 megawatts (MW) worth of products but only served to increase its net and operating losses.
This was all on the back of a February notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) warning the company that it faced de-listing from the famous stock exchange due to the fact that it could not keep its market capitalization above prescribed standards.
Fast-forward to June 29, and Yingli Green Energy announced that it had received notification from the NYSE that its American Depository Shares were not in compliance with the continued listing standards due to its failure to maintain an average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30 trading-day period of at least $50 million, and its stockholders equity was less than $50 million.
Yingli Green Energy subsequently announced that it would not challenge this de-listing determination and the NYSE immediately suspended trading in the company’s shares.
As Mark Osborne from PV-Tech explained (and showed below), Yingli Green’s cash position has plummeted over seven years, despite the skyrocketing nature of the solar industry itself — not to mention the company’s own shipment levels.
It’s important to note, however, that this move is less representative of any larger industry trend or issue and more to do with the company’s own mismanagement of its debt that stemmed from deciding to produce its own polysilicon. As a result, while other companies like Trina Solar and Canadian Solar have made hay while the solar industry boomed, Yingli concentrated on trying to rectify its debt position, and failed in the process.
“Yingli’s stock never recovered after its first delisting,” explained Jade Jones, a senior analyst at GTM Research. “Since serious concerns regarding the company’s liquidity were never adequately addressed, it was unlikely that it would pique investor interest. The current supply glut will likely hit Yingli the hardest, as buyers flock to more bankable companies offering competitive pricing.”
Yingli Green Energy’s shares have thus been transferred to the OTC Pink and will trade under the symbol ‘YGEHY’, with the company expecting that the move “will have no effect on the legal rights of the holders of” Yingli shares.
One outcome of this is that Yingli will cease issuing quarterly earnings reports on a regular basis.
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