JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. JASO posted second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 42 cents per diluted American Depositary Share (ADS). The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a break-even.
The bottom line increased 40% from 30 cents in the year-ago period.
Total Revenue
JA Solar’s revenues in the reported quarter were $878.1 million, comfortably surpassing the consensus mark of $610 million by 44%. The reported figure was also up 41.9% compared with the year-ago level.
Q2 Shipments
Total shipments in the second quarter of 2017 were 2,389.2 megawatts (“MW”), including 2,147.5 MW of modules and 167.2 MW of cells shipped to external customers. Consequently, external shipments surged 88.3% year over year.
The improvement year over year in external shipments was attributable to an 89.3% upside in module shipment and 75.8% growth witnessed in cells shipment.
The increase in shipments came on the back of strong demand from Asia-Pacific (excluding China), which constituted 24.9% of the quarter’s total shipment. Shipments to Europe rose to 5.1% of the total from 3.7% in the year-ago quarter. South America, however, witnessed a considerable drop, having contributed 0.4% to total shipments compared with 9.9% a year ago.
China also witnessed a slowdown in shipments, which constituted 59.2% of the total, reflecting a drop from 63.9% a year ago. North America too saw a decline in shipments, which constituting 8.1% of the total in the reported quarter compared with 9.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Highlights of the Release
Gross profits were $113.7 million, up 20.3% year over year. Gross margin contracted 240 basis points year over year to 12.9%.
Total operating expenses of $76.1 million represented 8.7% of revenues compared with the year-ago figure constituting 10.7% of revenues. Operating profit was $37.6 million, up 32.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Interest expenses totaled $12.2 million, up from $10.4 million a year ago.
JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. Quote
Financial Condition
At the end of the reported quarter, JA Solar had a cash balance of $477 million compared with $370.1 million at 2016-end. As of Jun 30, total long-term borrowings were $302.5 million compared with $464.7 million as of Dec 31, 2016.
Guidance
JA Solar expects to ship 1,600-1,700 MW of cells and modules in the third quarter of 2017, with essentially all being external shipments.
For 2017, the company now expects to ship 6.5-7.0 GW, up from 6.0-6.5 GW of cells and modules guided earlier, which includes 100-150 MW of module shipments to the company’s downstream projects, down from the previous guidance of 200-250 MW .
Zacks Rank
JA Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Peer Releases
First Solar Inc. FSLR reported second-quarter 2017 earnings of 64 cents a share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a loss of 4 cents. Furthermore, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ witnessed second-quarter 2017 adjusted loss of 15 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 16 cents. Moreover, this company sports a Zacks Rank #1.
SunPower Corp. SPWR incurred second-quarter 2017 loss of 39 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 63 cents. Moreover, the company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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