US-based First Solar recorded $794 million in income within the first quarter, beating consensus estimates by about 10%.
First Solar reported its earnings for the primary quarter by March 31, 2024, which beat Wall Street consensus expectations for each income and earnings per share. The maker of thin-film cadmium telluride photo voltaic panels largely maintained its full-year 2024 steering outlook for earnings.
The firm recorded $794.11 million in income within the first quarter, beating Wall Street consensus estimates by about 10%. It additionally delivered an 8.68% shock to earnings per share estimates, touchdown at $2.20 for the quarter.
First Solar reiterated its steering for all of 2024, anticipating $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion in web gross sales and about 15.6 GW to 16.3 GW of shipments. The firm lowered its anticipated web money steadiness by about $300 million to a spread of $600 million to $900 million, and anticipated capital expenditures elevated by $100 million to a spread of $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion for yr.
“We are happy with our begin to 2024, with good operational efficiency, selective bookings with a year-to-date ASP (common promoting value) of over 31 cents per watt excluding adjuster, and powerful monetary outcomes,” mentioned Mark Widmar, chief govt. First Solar official. “Our numerous expertise and balanced enterprise mannequin allow us to drive progress, navigate business volatility and ship sustainable shareholder worth.”
Year-to-date bookings for First Solar totaled 2.7 GW, and the corporate has an anticipated gross sales backlog of greater than 78.3 GW. For context, all the United States has cumulatively put in roughly 180 GW of photo voltaic capability to this point.
First Solar has a number of tailwinds supporting its progress, together with a brand new one antidumping and countervailing obligation investigation which places stress on main opponents that import photo voltaic modules. Philip Shen, managing director of Roth Capital Partners, mentioned in an business be aware that main crystalline silicon tier-one suppliers of photo voltaic panels raised their costs by about $0.05/W as a result of antidumping tariffs. and a further $0.02/W for the elimination of tariff exemptions for the bifacial module. These circumstances depart room for First Solar to extend common promoting costs, additional boosting margins.
The firm mentioned in its year-end 2023 report its earnings plan double its manufacturing capability by 2026, suggesting a robust progress ramp forward.
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