SunPower Corp. (SPWR) posted a larger first-quarter loss as costs and
charges offset higher revenue, although the company said its key businesses are
expanding.
The solar-panel and project development company moved forward with construction
of a 250-megawatt
California
solar
farm and expanded its residential rooftop solar-power leasing business, in
which the company matches investors with homeowners who want to use solar power
but don't want to buy a system.
"Our rooftop business is exploding, particularly in
North
America
," SunPower Chief Executive Tom Werner said in an interview. He
added that the European solar market is shifting toward rooftop solar, rather
than large-scale solar farms, which he said would benefit SunPower.
SunPower shares fell 1.75% to $5.60 in after-hours trade, paring earlier gains.
The stock is down 74% over the past 12 months.
Shares of solar-product makers have plummeted over the past year as the
industry struggles with a global oversupply of solar panels and cuts to
renewable-energy subsidies in key European countries, resulting in weakened
demand and a sharp decline in solar-panel prices. SunPower has continued to
command a premium for its panels, which the company maintains convert more
sunlight into electricity than rival panels.
The
U.S.
government has made payments of between $138 million and $195 million on $1.19
billion in federal loans for a 250-megawatt
California
solar
farm that SunPower is building for NRG Energy Inc. (NRG), according to
government data.
SunPower said it booked $176 million in revenue from the project in the first
quarter that it didn't include in figures representing generally accepted
accounting principles, or GAAP.
The company said it has a 5-gigawatt pipeline of large-scale solar projects,
including a 650-megawatt solar farm that it will supply that is under
development in
Los Angeles
County
, and
a 25-megawatt solar power plant in
Modesto
,
Calif.
, that
SunPower has sold to power developer K Road Power Holdings LLC.
The San Jose, Calif., company has expanded into South Africa and the Middle
East after buying solar-power developer Tenesol from French oil major Total SA
(FP.FR, TOT), which owns two-thirds of SunPower.
SunPower is also expanding in
Japan
,
India
,
Australia
and
China
,
Werner said. The company has a supply deal with Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO, TOSYY)
that has led to increasing shipments to
Japan
, he
said.
To cut costs, the company is shutting down some older manufacturing lines at
its
Philippines
factory complex and upgrading equipment at its remaining fabrication lines
there. The company also is ramping up production at a facility in
Mexico
to
serve the North American market.
Looking ahead, SunPower expects a second-quarter adjusted loss of 20 cents to 5
cents a share on revenue of $575 million to $650 million. Analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters most recently predicted a per-share loss of 5 cents and revenue
of $639 million. The company reaffirmed its full-year view.
SunPower reported a first-quarter loss of $74.5 million, or 67 cents a share,
compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.1 million, or 2 cents a share. Excluding
stock-based compensation, an adjustment to the timing of revenue recognition
from the
California
solar
farm project, write-down of inventory and other impacts, the loss was 12 cents
in the latest quarter compared with a 15-cent profit a year earlier.
Revenue rose 9.5% to $494.1 million.
In February, the company predicted a per-share loss between 20 cents and 5
cents a share on revenue of $500 million to $575 million.
Gross margin narrowed to 9.2% from 19.6%.
Americas
revenue, its biggest top-line contributor, was up 38%, while revenue in the
Asia Pacific region rose 20%. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa slid 22%.