Canadian Solar Sees Q3 Revenues Below Market; Backs FY21 Forecast - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - While announcing weak profit and higher revenues in its second quarter on Thursday, Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) issued third-quarter revenue and gross margin view, and backed fiscal 2021 outlook.

For the third quarter, total revenues are expected to be in the range of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion. Gross margin is expected to be between 14% and 16%.

On average, five analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect revenues of $1.62 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the third quarter, the company expects total module shipments to be in the range of 3.8 GW to 4.0 GW, including approximately 275 MW of module shipments to the Company's own projects.

For fiscal 2021, the company reiterated its expectation that revenue will be in the range of $5.6 billion to $6.0 billion, but slightly reduced total module shipment guidance to 16 GW to 17 GW from 18 GW to 20 GW expected previously. Analysts expect revenues of $5.9 billion for the year.

The company also backed its project sales guidance of 1.8 GW to 2.3 GW and total battery storage shipment guidance of 810 MWh to 860 MWh for the full year 2021.

Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO, said, "While we continue to navigate volatile market conditions, we expect Canadian Solar's performance to improve through the remainder of 2021 both in shipment volume, profitability and project sale execution. The wider-than-usual revenue and profitability range for the third quarter reflects the timing of certain project sales which may be recognized towards the end of the quarter or early in the following one."

Canadian Solar said it continues to expect market share gains in 2021 as the trimmed shipment guidance is reflective of marginally softer global demand expectations as a response to higher equipment costs.