China’s Trina Solar Surges On Strong Second Quarter Sales

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Up and coming Chinese solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar Ltd. reported on Tuesday that its profit more than quadrupled in the second quarter, as the firm enjoyed stronger global demand for solar panels and cost-cutting measures boosted margins.

Trina Solar’s results were well above consensus analyst expectations, and shares were up as high as $10.70 in early trading, but have slumped to $10.25 as of 11:30 AM ET Tuesday.

CEO Jifan Gao commented that demand for high-quality solar panels continues to trend upwards in China, the U.S. and India. “Looking ahead, we are expecting a historically strong year in the global solar market,” Gao said, and added that China will soon create even greater demand as the Chinese government prioritizes the development of renewable energy.

More on Trina Solar 2Q earnings

After the blowout second quarter earnings, Trina boosted its full-year module shipment guidance to 4.9 gigawatts to 5.1 gigawatts, a notable increase from the prior range of 4.4 gigawatts to 4.6 gigawatts.

The company noted that it shipped a higher-than-expected 1,231.6 megawatts in solar modules in the quarter, 31% higher than 2Q 2014, and up 20% compared to the first quarter.

Trina Solar’s strong results stand out in comparison to larger rival Yingli Green Energy Holding Co, which noted concerns about continuing operations and meeting debt-repayment schedules earlier this summer. Yingli’s problems are similar to those suffered by many of China’s solar-panel producers, who have had problems adjusting to volatility in supply and demand that has led to lower prices even as sales numbers pick up as China tries increase solar capacity and curb pollution and CO2 emissions.

Cost cuts also helped with the improvement in second-quarter results, Gao noted in his comments at the earnings conference call. Moreover, despite the fact that overall expenses were up, the firm grew its gross margin to 20.6% this year from 15.4% 12 months ago.

Trina Solar reported a net profit of $43.1 million or 42 cents an ADR share, from $10.3 million, or 14 cents a share, the prior year.

Revenues were also up by almost 40% yoy for the quarter, surging to just a tad less than $723 million.

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