Yingli Green Energy Q2 Loss Narrows, Confirms Annual PV Module Shipment Target

(RTTNews) - Photovoltaic manufacturer Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd (YGE) Friday reported a narrower loss for the second quarter, as its PV module shipments touched a historical high. The company confirmed its PV module shipment target for the year.

Net loss attributable to the company narrowed to 320.85 million yuan or $52.28 million from 572.98 million yuan last year. Net loss was 611.8 million yuan in the preceding first quarter.

Loss per share narrowed to 2.05 yuan or $0.33 compared to 3.66 yuan last year.

Total net revenues increased to 3.378 billion yuan or $550.44 million from 3.103 billion yuan in the previous year.

Revenue improved more than 26 percent from the first quarter, as PV module shipments increased 23.6 percent sequentially and average selling price of PV modules were slightly higher.

The sequential growth was primarily due to robust demand from China and the U.S. associated with the traditional peak seasons and the accelerated construction of utility scale projects. Revenues from Europe were better than expected due to pull-in demand despite the regulatory uncertainties.

Operating margin was negative 3.8 percent compared to negative 10.5 percent in the second quarter of 2012.

The company recorded a foreign currency exchange gain of 6.5 million yuan in the quarter compared to foreign currency exchange loss of 183.7 million yuan in the prior year. Income tax benefit declined to 4.2 million yuan from 102.3 million yuan.

Liansheng Miao, CEO, said, ''We are pleased to announce another better than expected quarter in terms of market share and profitability, mainly driven by the continuous fundamental improvements of solar market conditions, our well-recognized brand, diversified customer base and unceasing technological innovations."

Based on current market and operating conditions, estimated production capacity and forecasted customer demand, the company confirmed its PV module shipment target of 3.2 GW to 3.3 GW for 2013, which represents an year-over-year increase of 39.4 to 43.7 percent.

In the second half of the year, China, the U.S., Japan and other emerging markets are expected to play an increasingly important role in driving shipment growth as demand increases.

The stock closed at $4.20 on Thursday and added 2.4 percent in pre-market activity.