GUELPH, Ontario, Jan. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc.
("Canadian Solar" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the
world's largest solar power companies, today updated its guidance
for the fourth quarter and full year 2017 in part to reflect the
timing of certain utility-scale solar project sales. The
updated guidance is subject to adjustments based upon completion of
the Company's internal review process. Final reported results
could differ materially from the estimates provided
below.
In the guidance provided in its press release dated November 9, 2017, the Company noted that in
September and October 2017, it had
entered into definitive agreements with two buyers to sell a
portfolio of six solar power projects in California, totaling 703 MWp. The parties
hoped to close the transactions in the fourth quarter of 2017 or
the first quarter of 2018, depending on the timing of receipt of
the required governmental approvals. These transactions were
not completed in 2017 and have not yet received the required
government approvals. The Company will update the timing for
the completion of these transactions once the parties receive the
required government approvals.
As a result of the delay in completing the transactions, the
Company now expects its total revenue for the fourth quarter of
2017 to be in the range of $1.04
billion to $1.08 billion,
compared to $1.77 billion to
$1.81 billion guided previously.
Meanwhile, Canadian Solar updates its solar module shipment
guidance for the fourth quarter of 2017 to be in the range of
approximately 1,720 MW to 1,820 MW, compared to 1,650 MW to 1,750
MW guided previously. Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2017
is now expected to be in the range of 16.5% to 18.5%, compared to
10.5% to 12.5% previously guided. The
sales of the portfolio of six solar power projects in California have low margins and, therefore,
had lowered the gross margin estimate in the previous
guidance. On the other hand, in the fourth quarter of 2017,
the Company sold a portfolio of Japanese solar projects to Canadian
Solar Infrastructure Fund, Inc., which went public in October 2017, as well as sold certain other solar
projects in the U.S. and other countries. These transactions
had healthy margins. The new guidance reflected the blended
gross margin of Canadian Solar's module and solutions businesses,
as well as these project sales. The Company will provide more
details in the fourth quarter 2017 business update of its regular
earnings press release.
For the full year 2017, Canadian Solar now expects its total
solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 6.8 GW
to 6.9 GW, compared to 6.7 GW to 6.8 GW guided previously. The
Company now expects its total revenue for the full year 2017 to be
in the range of $3.33 billion to
$3.37 billion, compared to
$4.05 billion to $4.09 billion previously guided.
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Founded in 2001 in Canada,
Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar
power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic
modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also
has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power
projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years,
Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 25 GW of premium
quality modules to over 100 countries around the world.
Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies
in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since
2006. For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian
Solar on LinkedIn or
visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's
expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, and its ability to
receive the required government approvals for the sale of six solar
power projects in California, are
forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some
cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the
negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ include general business
and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry;
governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future
available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use
products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the
supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes
in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns;
changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition;
pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in
new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval
process; delays in utility-scale project construction; delays in
the completion of project sales; continued success in technological
innovations and delivery of products with the features customers
demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements;
availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation
and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings,
including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 27, 2017. Although the Company believes
that the expectations reflected in the forward looking statements
are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of
activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information
provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless
otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update
such information, except as required under applicable law.
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.