Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF) posted some very mixed results. On the surface it looks disappointing across the board, but after parcing through the data this seems as though there are no nasty surprises in the data. All figure have been converted to US dollars rather than Chinese “RMB” for comparison purposes, but the company’s CEO is also resigning. It may just be based on the hope of a bottom, but shares are trading higher.
Net revenue was $100.1 million, down 43% from Q1-2008, and down 39% from Q4-2008. The loss attributed to shareholders is -$1.0 million, 0r -$0.02 EPS on a basic basis. The company made $15.8 million a year ago, but lost $61.3 million for Q4-2008. Operating loss was -$2.9 million.
Gross profit was $7.2 million, down 74% in Q1-2008, but up from a loss of $55.3 million in Q4-2008. Gross margin improved to 7.2% from negative 33.7% in Q4-2008, primarily due to a reduction in raw material costs.
On the surface, it seems that Solarfun is a better currency trader than a solar PV maker. The company reported the opposite of many other companies of late. It recorded a net exchange rate gain of roughly $5.6 million). The gross loss was $4.8 million as a result of Euro:Dollar currency changes, but the net result was more than offset through its currency hedging with a gain of $10.4 million. Read the story at 24/7wallst
