Trina Solar Swings To Profit, Sees Strong Demand In FY14 - Update

(RTTNews) - Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), a China-based solar panel maker, posted a profit in the fourth quarter from a loss last year, as shipments surged on strong demand for panels in China and Japan. Earnings for the quarter easily trounced analysts' estimates, but revenues failed to meet expectations.

Looking ahead, the photovoltaic panel maker expects shipments to increase up to 47 percent in 2014, driven by continued strong demand.

China-based Trina Solar reported a fourth-quarter profit of $9.8 million or $0.13 per ADS, compared to a loss of $87.2 million or $1.23 per ADS last year. On average, ten analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $0.02 per ADS for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Fourth-quarter revenues of Trina Solar surged to $525.6 million from $302.7 million a year ago, but short of analysts estimate of $543.47 million.

Revenue growth was driven by higher shipment volumes on strong demand from key regions, particularly China and Japan. Total shipments surged to 770.1 MW from 414.5 MW last year.

Fourth-quarter gross margin improved to 15.1 percent from 1.9 percent a year ago. Operating expenses dropped 14.5 percent to $65.0 million.

Chief Executive Jifan Gao said, "We are seeing substantial sales growth in China, and anticipate that trend to continue following the government's increased target of 14 GW in new solar installations for 2014"

Looking forward to the first quarter, Trina Solar expects to ship between 670 MW to 700 MW of PV modules. For the full year 2014, the company expects total PV module shipments to be between 3.6 GW and 3.8 GW, an increase of 39.5 to 47.3 percent.

"In 2014, we are optimistic that solar PV demand will continue to be strong and expect China, Japan, as well as the broader Asia Pacific region and the Middle East to be key drivers of this increased demand. At the same time, we remain committed to securing ongoing growth in Europe," Gao added.

TSL is currently trading at $15.52, up $0.77 or 5.22%, on the NYSE.