Energy Conversion Results Mixed

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER - Analyst Report) announced operating and financial results for its 3rd quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2009, ending March 31, 2009.

Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Net income in the reported quarter fell to $1.33 million or $0.03 per basic and diluted share compared to net income of $6.97 million or $0.17 per basic and diluted share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue also fell 5.7% for the reported quarter to $66.01 million as compared to $69.98 million in the year-ago quarter. Of this, product sales fell 7.9% to $60.19 million from $65.37 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the reported quarter, net income and per-share figures include a preproduction costs of $1.3 million or $0.03 per share, and restructuring costs of $139,000 or less than $0.01 per share.

Excluding these one-time charges, operating earnings were $0.07 per share in the reported quarter compared to operating earnings of $0.25 per share in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin on solar product sales in the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2009 was 29.2% and consolidated gross margin was 31.6%. United Solar Ovonic produced 33.3 MW of solar laminates in the reported quarter.

Fiscal 2009 First Nine Months Financial Results

Total consolidated revenues in the first nine months of fiscal 2009 ending March 31, 2009, increased 52.7% to $264.88 million from $173.47 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2008. Of this, Solar product sales were $248.98 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2009 as compared to $159.39 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2008.

Net income in the first nine months of fiscal 2009 was $28.23 million or $0.66 per diluted share ($0.67 basic) versus a net loss of $6.02 million or a net loss of $0.15 per basic and diluted share in the year-ago period. In the first nine months of fiscal 2009, net operating cash flow was $33.72 million versus $12.48 million during the first nine months of fiscal 2008.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $33.72 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2009 from $12.48 million of net cash used in the first nine months of fiscal 2008. This was due to net income of $28.23 million at the end of the reported period compared to net loss of $6.02 million at the end of the year-ago period, apart from higher depreciation and amortization, partially offset by negative changes in working capital.

Net cash used in investing activities increased to $259.17 million at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2009 from $18.66 million provided by investing activities at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2008. This was due to higher purchases of property, plant and equipments and lower proceeds from sale of investments.

Similarly, cash from financing activities also fell to $1.18 million at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2009 from $6.16 million at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2008. This was due to lower proceeds from sale of stock and exercise of stock options. In effect, cash and cash equivalents increased more than three-fold at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2009 to $260.18 million from $80.69 million at the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2008.