Despite Falling Sales, Hanwha SolarOne Predicts a Better 2013
| 19 March 2013
Posted in News - SPVI news
In 2013, Hanwha SolarOne is expecting shipments of 300 MW for the current quarter and between 1.3 GW and 1.5 GW for the full year
Hanwha SolarOne Co Ltd (NASDAQ:HSOL) has reported its fourth-quarter and full fiscal year results. The business has reported falling revenues in both fourth-quarter and full-year results, but is looking at better times ahead with an increase in demand levels coming from Japan, South Africa, China and the U.S.
The business’s quarterly revenues slipped by 13.4% sequentially and 14.5% year over year to $134.3M. During the quarter, the PV module shipments fell by 17% from 239.5 MW in the previous quarter, but increased by 5.2% from 189.1 MW in the same quarter last year to 198.9 MW. Excluding module processing services, the business’s average selling prices for the quarter stood at $0.60 per watt, showing a decline of 11.1% from Q3-2012 and of 40.4% from Q4-2011. The company’s gross margin in Q4 improved from negative 5.8% in the previous quarter and negative 20.1% in Q4-2011 to negative 2.6%. Hanwha’s quarterly loss shrank by 19.5% from last year, but ballooned by 108.1% from the previous quarter to $107.6M. Excluding one-off items, the company’s loss on a non-GAAP basis was $104.5M, showing an increase of 115.5% from the previous quarter and a decrease by 24.6% from the same quarter in 2011.
For the full fiscal year, Hanwha’s net revenues dropped significantly by 42.7% to $590.4M, while its shipments decreased by 1.7% to 829.8 MW. The business’s net loss widened from $149.41M to $250.86M, representing an increase of 68%.
Despite the falling revenues, Hanwha SolarOne has put on an impressive performance in some of the new emerging markets such as Greece, Thailand and India, who together accounted for 30% of the total shipments, whereas Asia Pacific accounted for 49% in Q4-2012. A significant geographic shift in revenue sources occurred in the fourth quarter as Japan contributed nearly 20% to the total revenues and became the biggest market for Hanwha SolarOne, while the country contributed just 3% to total sales in the previous quarter, followed by Greece (16%) and China (15%). In the third quarter, 39% of the revenues came from Germany, followed by the U.S (13%) and China (11%).
Commenting on the business’s future, Hanwha SolarOne’s CEO Ki-Joon Hong said, “Profitability will remain challenging for most if not all of 2013, but we feel confident that we are making good progress on the return to a path of profitability.”
In 2013, Hanwha SolarOne is expecting shipments of 300 MW for the current quarter and between 1.3 GW and 1.5 GW for the full year, with rising levels of demand in its home market as well as in the Middle East and the U.S. Moreover, the government’s support for the solar industry in Japan and South Africa is also going to give a boost to sales. Most of the shipments in the current fiscal year, i.e. 19%, are expected to go to South Africa, 16% to North America and 12% each to China and Japan. However, the anti-dumping ruling could have a negative impact on Q3-2013 shipments.
