DOW & Imagine Homes Sign Deal

The Dow Chemical Company (DOW - Analyst Report) announced that it has entered an agreement with Imagine Homes – a San Antonio-based homebuilder – to provide its Powerhouse solar shingle roof system to all new homebuyers in latter’s six residential communities in San Antonio.

DOW POWERHOUSE, the nation’s first solar shingle roof product, will help the homeowners of San Antonio to do away with a large portion of home energy costs by switching to solar roofs. Imagine Homes will be the first of such homebuilder in Texas to provide its customers with DOW POWERHOUSE.

The POWERHOUSE solar shingle has some unique features. It includes a custom designed array that complements the style of the homeowners while fulfilling their energy saving goals. It comes with a solar inverter that converts Direct Current (DC) into Alternating Current (AC) to cater to homes’ power needs. The system also helps to monitor real-time energy production from an internet connection.

Imagine Homes is a leader in green homebuilding technologies. It has already beaten the U.S. Department of Energy’s Builders Challenge target to provide homes that are 30% more energy-efficient than the standard code in the U.S. based on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index. The company’s collaboration with Dow is in line with its mission to increase the number of energy efficient houses in San Antonio.

POWERHOUSE solar shingle system is certified as both solar and roofing product. It has received seven performance and safety certifications, and is proven to withstand rain, hail and wind uplift.

Dow is scheduled to release its second-quarter 2012 financial results on July 26, 2012. In the first quarter of the year, the company posted earnings of 61 cents a share (excluding specific one-time items), surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents. However, it was below the year-ago adjusted earnings of 82 cents.

Revenues dropped marginally to $14,719 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15,342 million. The company experienced a double-digit growth in revenues in its agricultural and feedstock/energy businesses, which was offset by lower revenues in performance materials and performance plastics segments during the quarter.

Michigan-based Dow is a leading chemical company, whose products are used across a broad spectrum of industries. The company faces stiff competition from EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD - Analyst Report).

Currently, the stock maintains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term (1 to 3 months) Hold rating and we have a long-term (more than 6 months) Neutral recommendation on the company’s shares.