TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) _ First Solar Inc. (FSLR) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $192 million.

The Tempe, Arizona-based company said it had net income of $1.89 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 71 cents per share.

The largest U.S. solar company posted revenue of $1.01 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Analysts expected $1.27 billion, according to Zacks.

For the year, the company reported profit of $396.9 million, or $3.91 per share. Revenue was reported as $3.39 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, First Solar said it expects revenue in the range of $550 million to $650 million. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $857.3 million.

First Solar shares have increased 23 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen almost 3 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $54.70, a decline of 2 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FSLR at http://www.zacks.com/ap/FSLR

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Keywords: First Solar, Earnings Report