First Solar Profit Falls 58%

(RTTNews) - U.S. solar panel maker First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) said Tuesday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit fell 58% from last year, as sales dropped 29%.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in way below analysts' expectations as did its quarterly sales. At the same time, the company forecasts first quarter earnings below analysts' current consensus estimate.

"The fourth quarter and full-year 2013 shows our Company's continued progress in achieving the strategic objectives we outlined during our Analyst Day event in April," said Jim Hughes, CEO of First Solar.

First Solar shares are currently losing 12.46% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $58.03, up 28 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $24.46 to $65.99.

First Solar and other solar panel manufacturers have been struggling recently, as a global oversupply of solar panels and weakened demand have driven prices lower. Meanwhile, the company has turned its focus on building solar farms on its own rather than selling solar panels to other companies. The company is also venturing into new regions, including Japan.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Tempe, Arizona-based company reported net income of $65.3 million or $0.64 per share, compared to $154.2 million or $1.74 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding restructuring and asset impairment charges of $24.9 million mainly related to an additional write-down, due to a change in marketing strategy, in the value of the company's idle Vietnam facility, adjusted net income for the latest quarter was $90.3 million or $0.89 per share.

On average, 17 analysts expected the company to earn $0.99 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the fourth quarter fell 29% to $768.44 million from $1.08 billion a year ago, mainly due to lower systems business project revenue Nineteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $965.38 million for the fourth quarter.

Looking forward to the first quarter, the company forecasts net sales of $800 million to $900 million and earnings of $ 0.50 to $ 0.60 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $0.84 per share on revenue of $898.25 million for the first quarter.