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First Solar (FSLR) Misses on Q1 Earnings, Ups '19 Sales View
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First Solar Inc. (FSLR - Free Report) incurred a loss of 64 cents per share in first-quarter 2019, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 13 cents. The reported figure also deteriorated significantly from the prior-year quarter’s earnings of 78 cents.
Sales
First Solar’s sales of $532 million in the reported quarter missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $622 million by 14.5%. The top line also decreased 6.2% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $567.3 million. The year-over-year decline can be attributed to lower systems project revenues in the United States and Japan.
First Solar, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
In the first quarter, gross profit totaled $0.1 million, significantly down from $172.8 million registered a year ago. The deterioration was due to First Solar’s higher cost of sales in the quarter under review.
Total operating expenses declined 22.1% to $76.8 million due to lower selling, general and administrative expenses as well as production start-up expenses.
However, the company incurred an operating loss of $76.6million, reflecting a massive deterioration from operating income of $74.2 million in the year-ago quarter. The downside was due to significantly low gross profit.
Financial Performance
First Solar had $1,013.4 million of cash and cash equivalents as of Mar 31, 2019, down from $1,403.6 million as of Dec 31, 2018.
Long-term debt totaled $558.4 million at the end of first quarter compared with $461.2 million as of Dec 31, 2018.
2019 Guidance
First Solar has updated its 2019 guidance, partially. The company continues to expect earnings in the range of $2.25-$2.75 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings, pegged at $2.48, lies just below the midpoint of the company’s projected range.
On the top-line front, the company has raised its expectation from the earlier range of $3.25-$3.45 billion to $3.5-$3.7 billion band. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for the company’s 2019 sales, pegged at $3.35 billion, lies much below the midpoint of the company’sprojected view.
However, it lowered the full-year operating expenses projections from $375-$395 million to $370-$390 million and gross margin expectation from 19.5-20.5% to 18-9%.
Meanwhile, First Solar continues to expect its shipments in the range of 5.4-5.6 gigawatts.
SunPower Corp. (SPWR - Free Report) is slated to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 9. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Sunrun Inc. (RUN - Free Report) is scheduled to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 8. The company sports a Zacks Rank of 1.
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SEDG - Free Report) is slated to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 6. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3.
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First Solar (FSLR) Misses on Q1 Earnings, Ups '19 Sales View
First Solar Inc. (FSLR - Free Report) incurred a loss of 64 cents per share in first-quarter 2019, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 13 cents. The reported figure also deteriorated significantly from the prior-year quarter’s earnings of 78 cents.
Sales
First Solar’s sales of $532 million in the reported quarter missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $622 million by 14.5%. The top line also decreased 6.2% from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $567.3 million. The year-over-year decline can be attributed to lower systems project revenues in the United States and Japan.
First Solar, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
First Solar, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | First Solar, Inc. Quote
Operational Highlights
In the first quarter, gross profit totaled $0.1 million, significantly down from $172.8 million registered a year ago. The deterioration was due to First Solar’s higher cost of sales in the quarter under review.
Total operating expenses declined 22.1% to $76.8 million due to lower selling, general and administrative expenses as well as production start-up expenses.
However, the company incurred an operating loss of $76.6million, reflecting a massive deterioration from operating income of $74.2 million in the year-ago quarter. The downside was due to significantly low gross profit.
Financial Performance
First Solar had $1,013.4 million of cash and cash equivalents as of Mar 31, 2019, down from $1,403.6 million as of Dec 31, 2018.
Long-term debt totaled $558.4 million at the end of first quarter compared with $461.2 million as of Dec 31, 2018.
2019 Guidance
First Solar has updated its 2019 guidance, partially. The company continues to expect earnings in the range of $2.25-$2.75 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings, pegged at $2.48, lies just below the midpoint of the company’s projected range.
On the top-line front, the company has raised its expectation from the earlier range of $3.25-$3.45 billion to $3.5-$3.7 billion band. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for the company’s 2019 sales, pegged at $3.35 billion, lies much below the midpoint of the company’sprojected view.
However, it lowered the full-year operating expenses projections from $375-$395 million to $370-$390 million and gross margin expectation from 19.5-20.5% to 18-9%.
Meanwhile, First Solar continues to expect its shipments in the range of 5.4-5.6 gigawatts.
Zacks Rank
First Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming Solar Releases
SunPower Corp. (SPWR - Free Report) is slated to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 9. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Sunrun Inc. (RUN - Free Report) is scheduled to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 8. The company sports a Zacks Rank of 1.
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SEDG - Free Report) is slated to release its first-quarter 2019 results on May 6. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>