Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world's largest solar companies, updated its guidance for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. The updated guidance is based on Canadian Solar's current views with respect to operating and market conditions, its current order book and customers' forecasts, all of which are subject to change. The updated guidance may also become subject to adjustment based upon completion of the full-year reporting process, and audited results could differ materially from the estimates provided below.
For the fourth quarter of 2011, Canadian Solar expects solar module shipments to increase to approximately 430 MW to 440 MW. This is significantly higher than the original fourth quarter guidance of approximately 340 MW to 360 MW provided on November 22, 2011, and compares to shipments of 287 MW and 355 MW in the second and third quarter of 2011, respectively. The significantly higher shipment level in the fourth quarter of 2011 reflects stronger than expected demand from customers. The Company expects its gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 to be in line with prior guidance of 5% to 8%. For the fiscal year 2011 shipments are expected to be in the range of 1,316 to 1,326 MW, compared to prior guidance in the range of 1,200 to 1,300 MW.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, remarked: "Canadian Solar continues to successfully execute on our business strategy. We are increasing shipments to customers in key markets worldwide, while at the same time aggressively reducing our manufacturing costs. In the market place we are winning by stressing our global brand, product quality, high performance, reliability and customer service. We are seeing continued gains in both solar module shipments to installers and in shipments related to our expanding project business. As an illustration of our business momentum, we recently signed agreement for Canadian Solar to develop and sell 9 fully-operational and commissioned utility-scale solar projects in the Province of Ontario, which are expected to contribute to the Company's revenue and profitability between late 2012 and mid-2013."
March 7, 2012 Conference Call Details
The Company will hold a conference call to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 and business outlook on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (9:00 p.m. March 7, 2012 in Hong Kong). The dial-in phone number is +1-617-213-8895 or +1-866-272-9941, with passcode 10107363. A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on Canadian Solar's website at //www.canadiansolar.com/.
A replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the conclusion of the live call through 10:00 a.m. on March 14, 2012, U.S. Eastern Time (10:00 p.m., March 14, 2012 in Hong Kong) by telephone at +1-617-801-6888. To access the replay, use passcode 75429946. A webcast replay will also be available at //www.canadiansolar.com/.