LDK Solar Co. (LDK) cut the top end of its fourth-quarter revenue guidance to reflect declining market prices for wafers and modules.

The Chinese maker of multicrystalline solar wafers and solar panels now expects revenue between $440 million and $450 million, compared with its November forecast of $440 million to $520 million, which bracketed analysts expectations at the time.

LDK projects fourth-quarter wafer shipments between 215 megawatts and 220 megawatts with cells and module shipments between 250 megawatts and 260 megawatts. Its November estimate was wafer shipments between 200 megawatts and 270 megawatts with module shipments between 180 megawatts and 270 megawatts.

The company had forecast gross margin between 2% and 7% in November, but it now expects gross margin to be negative as it will book charges for inventory writedowns and impairment on contractual purchase agreements, as well as some provisions for accounts receivable and fixed assets.

For fiscal 2012, LDK expects revenue of $2 billion to $2.7 billion, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect $1.89 billion.

Shares of solar-product makers have hit multiyear and all-time lows in recent weeks as the industry continues to sees prices pressured by weak demand in Europe--the world's largest solar market--and an oversupply of solar panels from Asia. LDK reported in November it swung to a third-quarter loss as it wrote down inventory and saw its sales drop 30% amid an industrywide decline in solar product prices.

Shares closed Friday at $4.90 and were inactive premarket. The stock has fallen 57% over the past year.

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